Garvey exits Bombardier for job with Obama team: Seen as candidate for Secretary of Transportation

Jane Garvey, head of the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration from 1997 to 2002, stepped down from Bombardier Inc.'s board yesterday after her decision to serve on U.S. president-elect Barack Obama's transition team.

Garvey will be heading a review of U.S. transportation agencies' decisions and policies. She is regarded in Washington as the top candidate to take over as Secretary of Transportation when Obama is inaugurated in January.

She refused to discuss her future, saying yesterday: "I'm going to refer everything to the Transition Office."

Garvey has been executive director, infrastructure advisory group, at JP Morgan Securities in the U.S., specializing in public-private partnerships. She became a director of Bombardier in October 2007.

Bombardier chairman Laurent Beaudoin thanked her for her "sound advice and guidance." The board will now have 12 members, seven of whom are independent. The company has begun a search for Garvey's replacement.

Canadian National Railway Co.'s contested $300 million bid for Chicago's Elgin, Joliet & Eastern Railroad, aimed at easing rail traffic congestion, was before the Surface Transportation Board in Washington yesterday and the advisory panel said a ruling may come "in a few weeks." But analysts said the final decision on the takeover will probably be delayed until the new transportation secretary is in the saddle.

Nothing but refuge left by ‘toon... sad this media created fantasy can't stand on his own... he is scared... z-man was right about who and what this pathetic POS really is... his “change” was back to the failed policies of ‘toon and company. Here comes Waco all over again! GOD have mercy on us all.

LLS

So, did the FAA oversee airport security from 1997 to 2002?

By rulemaking, FAA set the security standards for 429 U.S. airports, for U.S. airlines worldwide, and for foreign air carriers flying to the U.S. from about 250 foreign airports, and ensured compliance with those standards.

How about flight schools?

With respect to Sept. 11, we knew quite a few things, but not nearly enough.

We knew of foreign students in U.S. flight schools - we always have many, as one of the world leaders in aviation - but we did not know some were terrorists.

We wish we had received the FBI/Phoenix memo on flight school students - and it would have worried us a lot - but we did not.

When one of our inspectors was asked to evaluate the language proficiency of Hani Hanjour, a flight school student, we knew nothing of his terrorist connections.

When another hijacker left a rented aircraft parked on the ramp at an airport in Florida and walked away months before Sept. 11 he was just a guy with a plane that broke down.

And shortly before Sept. 11 we did know that a flight school in Minnesota had an unusual student pilot, but at the time he was in custody and did not appear to be a threat.

And on Sept. 11 we did not know that two of the individuals who turned out to be hijackers were already on an immigration watch list.

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