John Magaw Resigns as Head of TSA
Adm. James M. Loy To Take Agency Helm

Secretary of Transportation Norman Y. Mineta today accepted the resignation of John W. Magaw, the Under Secretary of Transportation for Security.

Magaw, who has headed the Transportation Security Administration since January 28, will be replaced by James M. Loy. Upon his retirement as Commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard, Loy was recently named Deputy Under Secretary and Chief Operating Officer of the TSA.

�John Magaw is a dedicated public servant with a lifetime of achievements in the law enforcement field, and we all owe him a debt for his role in the start-up phase of TSA,� Secretary Mineta said. �I also appreciate the difficulty of the task. Creating a nationwide system customized to 429 very busy commercial airports is a huge challenge.

�We are extremely fortunate that Jim Loy has agreed to serve as our new head of the TSA. Admiral Loy has amply demonstrated his ability to motivate and manage a large federal agency when he was commandant of the Coast Guard. Jim Loy is the right man for this job, at the right time.

�As a senior member of our DOT team for many years, Jim Loy already knows the players, the policies and the issues involved in transportation security. He is a superb manager, with impeccable credentials in security, intelligence, law enforcement and customer service.

�I have the utmost confidence in his leadership skills, and look forward to working with him to make TSA a success,� Secretary Mineta said.

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DOT Press Release

Christopher thanks and here is what AirWise has to say about this sudden resignation:

http://news.airwise.com/display/story.html?name=2002/07/1027073673.html

...and now we see why he "resigned"...

Bush Admin. Reconsiders Armed Pilots

WASHINGTON - The Bush administration is taking a new look at whether to allow airline pilots to carry guns, Transportation Secretary Norman Y. Mineta said Tuesday.

The Transportation Department also hopes to develop a program to allow frequent fliers to pass more quickly through airport checkpoints, Mineta said. The incoming head of the Transportation Security Administration, retired Coast Guard Adm. James Loy, will consider both issues.

Mineta testified before the House Transportation aviation subcommittee Tuesday. Afterward, spokesman Chet Lunner said Mineta was not responding to congressional pressure to arm pilots, but simply asking the new head of TSA to review an old policy.

``The secretary expects Admiral Loy, with a new set of eyes, to take a look at everything we're doing,'' Lunner said.

Loy's predecessor, John Magaw, announced in May that he would not arm pilots, though he continued to study whether to allow flight crews to carry stun guns. Mineta said Loy will look into arming pilots with guns or nonlethal weapons.

Pilots unions, backed by the National Rifle Association, have campaigned to get Congress to overrule the TSA. The House earlier this month voted 310-113 to allow commercial pilots to carry guns.

``We're very happy to hear that Secretary Mineta and Admiral Loy will be taking a fresh view with an open mind on this subject,'' said John Mazor, a spokesman for the Air Line Pilots Association.

One of the Senate sponsors of legislation to arm pilots, Montana Republican Conrad Burns, also praised Mineta's announcement.

``Right now, the only armed pilots in America are flying F-16s,'' Burns said. ``Secretary Mineta's comments signal his agency's recognition that American missiles shooting down American planes cannot be our government's answer to hijackings.''

Mineta said it would cost $860 million to set up a training program, plus another $250 million to retrain the pilots every year.

The secretary said Loy is also taking a new look at whether to set up a program to speed frequent flyers through airport checkpoints. Magaw had rejected the idea, concerned that a terrorist could somehow obtain clearance as a frequent flier.

But Loy embraced the suggestion. ``There is absolutely no doubt that part of the hassle reduction will be a trusted traveler program of some kind,'' he said.

Mineta said he has asked the airline industry to submit a plan for a trusted traveler program but has not gotten a response.

A spokesman for the Air Transport Association, Michael Wascom, said the industry hadn't pursued the idea because of Magaw's opposition to it but was now drafting a plan at the request of Tom Ridge, the president's homeland security director.

But even if the airline industry submits a proposal, the same concerns about security remain, Lunner said.

``We're looking for something that works,'' Lunner said. ``How do you develop a program that doesn't have serious vulnerabilities? We don't see how you can do it.''