For Wesley Major, Disability is not a Showstopper
The FAA has accommodated the intellectual and physical needs of one of its airport safety specialists.
By Jim Tise, FAA
Oddly enough, it was a motorcycle accident that eventually led Wesley Major to the world of aviation.
Major, an airport safety specialist in the Airport Technology Research & Development Section at the William J. Hughes Technical Center in Atlantic City, N.J., was critically injured in a motorcycle accident in 2008 that left him paralyzed from the chest down. While he still had use of his arms and his hands lost no dexterity, his carefree life as a college junior was suddenly reshaped.
“At first I accepted it,” said Major about his accident. “I took the risk. I owned it.” With the support of family and friends he pushed through rehab, learning the tools he would need to function in society.
Regarding rehab, Major said, “Everything is catered to you. You’re interacting with people who understand the disability. But once you transition from that environment — that ‘bubble’ so to speak — into the real world, you begin to see how the world’s not built for a wheelchair, or any disability really.”
That’s when the depression set it. “I thought, wow, this is going to be different from here on out. My goal was to get back to normal as soon as possible, whatever normal looked like.”
A mentor at the rehab center mentioned the Able Flight program, which provides scholarships to students with disabilities and gives them the opportunity to earn their light sport pilot licenses through an immersive flight school and training at Purdue University.
Read “Creating Equality in the Skies” for more on how the FAA has coordinated with the program over the years.
“I thought, ‘Let’s open up this door and see,’” said Major. “I wasn’t familiar with aviation. It was new and something I could do independently with a disability.”
While participating in Able Flight, Major was exposed to the university’s graduate programs. He admits going “off the deep end” into furthering his education, earning his master’s degree in aviation management. “I said let’s keep it going, let’s keep it rolling. I knew physical labor was off the table for me, so using my brain was the next alternative.”
Major went on to earn his PhD in technology with a concentration on aviation. His thesis explored the airline experience for people with disabilities. It stems from his own experiences traveling by airplane: “It never goes smoothly.”
In the summer of 2018 Major scored an internship with the Airport Technology R&D Section. Major had been working for Purdue as part of the university’s participation in the FAA’s Center of Excellence for General Aviation program.
His internship was in the office for which he now works, researching wildlife hazard mitigation. “I really liked it,” he said. “I got to test drive them and they got to test drive me.”
“He spent a summer with us here at the Tech Center, and was really able to demonstrate his interest in airport safety and his willingness to take on new work,” recalled Jim Patterson, manager of the FAA’s Airport Technology R&D Section. “Within just a few weeks, he had fully integrated into our team.”
When the opportunity arose to have Major fill a full-time position in the branch, Patterson worked hard to bring him onboard as a direct hire. “I was certain that Wes would be the perfect fit,” said Patterson. “He had already demonstrated his ability to perform the job, so that was never brought into question. We just had to convince him to move to New Jersey!”
Major joined the FAA in 2019. He says the best part of working for the agency is the variety of topics he can explore. Currently he is working on a project to study how drones might be used to monitor and disperse wildlife around airports. He also is involved in research regarding vertical takeoff and landing aircraft.
“It is pure research and that is what I find fascinating,” said Major. “It’s my background. There’s a lot of opportunities to network and grow my relationships and knowledge base. Every week there is something new.”
The FAA has also been very accommodating to his physical needs and those of his service dog, Nala, a 10-year-old German Shepard. “The group I work with look at the person first, not the wheelchair,” he explained. “They asked questions, ‘What can and can’t we do to assist or when interacting with a service animal?’ They were very receptive to that. They said if you ever need anything please let me know.”
Now, Major hopes to give back where he can because so much has been given to him. “As many doors as have been shut due to the accident, just as many have been opened for me. It does take a little more effort, and digging for information on line, but the disability is not a showstopper. What you do achieve is more worthwhile, more fruitful.”
The FAA is host to many internship programs, and our interns are critical to developing key campaigns throughout the field of aerospace. Go to faa.gov/go/interns to learn more about our programs and application periods.
