Mark Rosenker, a transportation safety expert, who served as the first ever vice chairman of the Washington Metrorail Safety Commission (WMSC) and was former chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), died Saturday, according to the WMSC.
The Washington Metrorail Safety Commission said it was “saddened to share” word of Rosenker’s death, which was due to brain cancer. He was 73.
“I am saddened to lose a long-time colleague and friend who has contributed so much to transportation safety as well as many other areas. Our thoughts are with the Rosenker family,” said Washington Metrorail Safety Commission Chairman Christopher Hart, who was appointed to fill the NTSB seat Rosenker departed at the end of his term.
Rosenker served as NTSB chairman from 2005 to 2009, worked in President George W. Bush’s administration for two years as a Deputy Assistant to the President and Director of the White House Military Office.
He also worked in several other federal agencies, and was a retired major general in the Air Force Reserve.
Rosenker was appointed to the Washington Metrorail Safety Commission in 2017 by then-Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe and was reappointed in 2019 by Gov. Ralph Northam.
He served on the boards of several companies, worked for the United Network for Organ Sharing and Electronic Industries Alliance, and as a transportation consultant and safety analyst made regular contributions to national media outlets like CBS News.
Rosenker earned his bachelor’s degree from the University of Maryland in 1969.
