About Taps
Ken W. Thompson
Ken W. Thompson, an owner/operator of TAPs, is a Maintenance Designated Airworthiness Representative (DAR) appointed by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to perform various services on behalf of the FAA.
Ken has over 50 years of aviation experience, including general aviation, corporate aviation, air-carrier aircraft, aircraft maintenance experience, manufacturing type certificate, and TSO/PMA approvals. He also holds FAA Inspection Authorization (I.A.) and Mechanic Certificate with Airframe and Powerplant (A&P) privileges.
Ken is highly knowledgeable of the aviation regulation requirements (e.g., the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), 14 CFR Chapter 1) and has served numerous times as an expert witness in administrative law with the National Transportation Safety Board during his career.
The privileges granted by the FAA allow TAPS to support the aviation industry through various services, such as issuing Standard and Restricted Airworthiness Certificates, Special Flight Permits, and Import and Export certificates for products and articles.
Lesha Thompson
Lesha Thompson joined Ken in January 2025 as the TAPs Chief Operating Officer (COO).
Lesha brings a wealth of aviation experience and knowledge from her 36 years with the Federal Aviation Administration, which compliments Ken’s experience. She began her career as an intern at the FAA’s Security and Investigation Division. Although her primary assignment was internal investigations, she had the rare opportunity to gain experience in multiple programs such as Personnel Security, Facility Security, Internal Investigations, Regulatory Investigations, and Law Enforcement Support. In addition, she completed extended details in the Dallas/Ft. Worth Civil Aviation Field Office and the Washington DC Headquarters office.
After earning a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and Police Administration, she was promoted to a Special Agent role, tasked with investigating airmen involved in alcohol and drug offenses. She conducted over 500 formal investigations and testified multiple times in NTSB hearings during her tenure.
She later joined the Civil Aviation Security Training Division as a course manager for Compliance and Enforcement, Communication Security (COMSEC), and Explosive Trace Detection Technology courses. She also managed the logistics and training curriculum for the initial TSA Screener Training courses in Oklahoma City.
As the TSA was being established, Lesha had the opportunity to stay with the FAA by returning to the Security and Investigations Division instead of transitioning to the TSA in her current role. Her new responsibilities with the FAA included the Airman Vetting program, relevant policy, and negotiations to transfer this program to the TSA as they set up their operations.
Lesha spent the last 22 years of her career in management, retiring in December 2024 as one of three Deputy Directors for FAA’s Office of National Security Programs and Incident Response.
During her time in management, she was the approving official for over 10,000 airman and aircraft investigations. She also had the opportunity to work with and lead a variety of professionals, including but not limited to the Washington Operations Center, Intelligence, Regulatory Investigations, Policy, Quality Assurance, and FAA Certification offices (e.g., Medical, Airman, and Aircraft).
We thank you for your time and interest in TAPs.
Please feel free to contact us for any of the above aviation-related services or for consultation regarding other aviation-related issues we could assist with.