The Wicks Group (TWG) is pleased to announce that the immediate past Executive Director of the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Flight Standards Service (AFX-1), Lawrence (Larry) Fields, has joined the firm as a Vice-President for Consulting Services effective December 1, 2025. Mr. Fields also served as the acting Deputy Associate Administrator for Aviation Safety (AVS-2).
In his new position with TWG, Mr. Fields will draw on nearly 40 years of FAA experience to advance firm business development and provide consulting project oversight. He also will make his FAA and technical knowledge available for legal matters being handled by TWG for airline, airport, repair station, and other aviation sector clients.
As Executive Director of Flight Standards, Mr. Fields provided leadership for members of the Flight Standards organization as they advanced its mission to develop, establish, and maintain the safest aviation system in the world. He was responsible for developing federal regulations and associated standards and guidance governing the operations and maintenance of all U.S. civil aircraft. He provided executive direction and oversight for four functional Flight Standards offices (Air Carrier Safety Assurance, General Aviation Safety Assurance, Safety Standards, and Foundational Business) having approximately 5,300 total employees.
When also serving as acting AVS-2, Mr. Fields was responsible for certification of all operational and maintenance enterprises in domestic civil aviation; safety oversight of civil flight operations; certification, production approval, and continued airworthiness of aircraft; certification of pilots, mechanics, and others in safety-related positions; and development of federal aviation regulations. In the discharge of AVS-2 responsibilities, he administered a budget of $1.8 billion and provided executive direction and oversight for the ten services and offices in AVS, staffed by approximately 7,700 employees.
Immediately before assuming the Executive Director position, Mr. Fields served as the Deputy Executive Director for the Flight Standards Service. His work in that role included oversight of the development, coordination, and execution of policies, standards, systems, and procedures, public rules, and regulations, and coordinating and executing program plans governing the operations, maintenance, and airworthiness of U.S. civil aircraft. His oversight responsibilities also included proficiency and certification of flight schools and maintenance bases and of qualified airmen.
Mr. Fields’s earlier positions at the FAA included serving as Director of the Office of General Aviation Safety Assurance, responsible for ensuring consistency in general aviation safety oversight activities, and, prior to that, as Manager of the Flight Standards Division (Eastern Region), covering 19 field offices from Maine to North Carolina and also operations in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. Mr. Fields began his FAA career as an Aviation Safety Inspector at the Farmingdale, NY Flight Standards District Office.
Those interested in discussing potential legal or consulting needs with Mr. Fields may contact him by email at lfields@wicks-group.com or by telephone at +1-516-780-4186.