Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, May 11, 1990 TAG: 9005110130
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A4 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: WASHINGTON LENGTH: Medium
Raymond Salazar, whose resignation was demanded by relatives of Pan Am Flight 103 victims, will leave next month to direct the FAA's Center for Management Development in Palm Coast, Fla., said spokesman Fred Farrar.
FAA Administrator James Busey said there was no connection between what he said was Salazar's decision to take the new job and the planned release Tuesday of a report by the Aviation Security and Terrorism Commission appointed by President Bush.
"We needed a good man for the job and we've got one," Busey said.
Salazar has directed civil aviation security since 1986 and was in charge at the time of the Dec. 21, 1988, bombing over Lockerbie, Scotland, that killed 270 people.
FAA officials declined to comment on whether the reassignment had anything to do with criticism of Salazar by victims' relatives and members of Congress, including some who sit on the commission. Farrar said the new job overseeing the center that trains FAA managers was not a demotion.
Salazar did not immediately return a call to his office for comment.
The seven-member commission, which is headed by former Labor Secretary Ann McLaughlin, is set to present its report on the Flight 103 bombing and other aviation terrorism issues to President Bush on Tuesday.
The commission report will be "pretty hard on the FAA" and will call for some reorganization, including the setting up of a special security office with high visibility, according to a congressional source familiar with some of its recommendations. The source spoke on condition of anonymity.
Paul Hogan of Albany, N.Y., who speaks for one group of Flight 103 relatives, said the FAA removal of Salazar was long overdue.
"He's totally tied to the blunders made prior to 103," Hogan said. "His leadership clearly has not been effective in eliminating the security gap."
Farrar defended security operations under Salazar, saying that since he took over in 1986, the security office's budget has doubled, with $51.9 million proposed for fiscal 1991. The amount devoted to research and development of more sophisticated bomb detectors for airports has increased from $11.3 million in 1986 to $25 million in the new budget, Farrar said.
Salazar has been the target of tough grilling by members of Congress at several hearings since the Lockerbie disaster.
by CNB