U.S. Sens. John Hickenlooper and Michael Bennet plan to introduce Denver International Airport CEO Phil Washington at his confirmation hearing tomorrow to become the chief of the beleaguered Federal Aviation Administration, their offices announced on Tuesday. 

The FAA hasn’t had a permanent administrator for about a year now, and the confirmation proceeding is occurring at a time when the agency faces major challenges, notably the chaos arising out of a system outage that grounded thousands of flights in January and three close calls in a few weeks.

In a news release, Colorado’s senators noted the lack of permanent leadership at the FAA and the crises plaguing the agency, including failure of what’s called Notice to Air Missions system, airline meltdowns, the reduction of flights to rural communities, and dangerous air traffic control incidents.

The NOTAM system advices pilots on conditions critical to safety.

This year alone, officials are investigating a close call at a New York airport between a plane that was crossing a runway and another that was preparing for takeoff. Meanwhile, a FedEx cargo airplane attempting to land at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport had to change course after a second plane was cleared to depart from the same runway. Federal investigators are also seeking more information about an incident in which a United Airlines plane dropped to within about 800 feet of the ocean surface after taking off from Hawaii.

Hickenlooper, for one, has repeatedly called for Washington’s confirmation.

Prior to joining DIA as its chief, Washington served as CEO of the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transit Authority. He previously worked for Colorado’s Regional Transportation District, including serving as CEO from 2009-2015.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.