WASHINGTON, March 17 (Reuters) - President Donald Trump is nominating Republic Airways CEO Bryan Bedford to head the Federal Aviation Administration in the face of growing scrutiny following a series of crashes.

Bedford, a pilot and industry veteran of more than 30 years, previously headed two other carriers and oversaw a significant expansion of Republic Airways.

"Bryan brings over three decades of experience in Aviation and Executive Leadership to this critical position," Trump said.

Indiana-based Republic is one of the biggest regional airlines in North America, operating a fleet of more than 200 Embraer aircraft with 900 daily flights in the United States and Canada. The flights operate under airline partner brands American Eagle, Delta Connection and United Express.

Bedford's nomination won praise from airlines.

The FAA position has been vacant since January 20, when FAA Administrator Mike Whitaker stepped down a little more than one year into a five-year term when Trump took office. The FAA has been run on an interim basis by Deputy Administrator Chris Rocheleau.

If confirmed, Bedford will face key decisions including when to let

Boeing ( BA ) expand production of its 737 MAX

beyond the current 38 plane-per-month cap and when to approve two new variants of the best-selling plane.

Rocheleau and Duffy visited Boeing ( BA ) in Seattle last week. Duffy said Boeing ( BA )

had lost its way and lost the trust

of the American people.

On January 29, a mid-air collision between an American Airlines ( AAL ) regional jet and an Army Black Hawk helicopter near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport killed 67 people.

Other recent incidents include fatal crashes of small planes in Alaska and Philadelphia, the crash of a regional Delta jet that flipped upon landing in Toronto and a near miss at Chicago Midway involving a Southwest Airlines ( LUV ) jet.

On Friday, the FAA said it was imposing permanent restrictions on non-essential helicopter operations at Reagan National after urgent recommendations from the National Transportation Safety Board.

Duffy said he will

ask Congress for tens of billions

of dollars to overhaul the nation's aging air-traffic-control system.

The FAA is about 3,500 air traffic controllers short of targeted staffing levels and in many places controllers are working six days a week and mandatory overtime.

(Reporting by David Shepardson and Kanishka Singh in Washington; Editing by Chris Reese and Stephen Coates)