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7338475
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Correspondence between the President and Alexander P. Butterfield, regarding his resignation as Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration [Letter]
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7338475
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document
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Correspondence between the President and Alexander P. Butterfield, regarding his resignation as Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration [Letter]
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White House Press Releases (Ford Administration)
Press Releases
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7338475
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25
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1975-03-25
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3
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1975
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435c2ecf5bc77aa9
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Digitized from Box 9 of the White'House Press Releases at the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library
[3-25-75]
THE WHITE HOUSE
WASHINGTON
Dear Alex:
I have your letter of March 24, and it is with
sincere regret that I accept your resignation
as Administrator of the Federal Aviation
Administration, effective March 31, 1975, as
you requested.
In doing so, I welcome this opportunity to express
my personal appreciation for your dedicated ser-
vice to our Nation. For more than four years as
Deputy Assistant to the President and throughout
the past two years as F.A. A. Administrator, you
carried out your responsibilities with energy,
professional skill and a high sense of purpose.
During your tenure as Administrator, significant
progress has been made in the development of a
more efficient system of air navigation and traffic
control, and, most importantly, in the field of
aviation safety. This is understandably an area of
greatest public concern, and I am grateful for your
effective leadership.
Now, as you prepare to leave government and return
to the private sector, I also want to thank you for
your unfailing cooperation and support, especially
during the first and vitally important months of my
- 2 -
Presidency. I know that events outside of your
duties of the past two years have presented a
particular burden, but you have never permitted
them to affect the quality of your service to my
Administration.
Betty joins me in wishing Charlotte and you our
personal best wishes for the future.
Sincerely,
The Honorable Alexander P. Butterfield
Administrator
Federal Aviation Administration
Department of Transportation
Washington, D. C. 20591
DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20590
FEDERAL
*
ADMINISTRATION
March 24, 1975
OFFICE OF
THE ADMINISTRATOR
The President
The White House
Washington, D. C. 20500
Dear Mr. President:
Aware of your desire to put those of your own choosing into Cabinet
and key sub-Cabinet posts, I hereby tender my resignation as Admin-
istrator of the Federal Aviation Administration, effective Monday,
March 31.
I want to assure you that like all Executive Level appointees, I fully
understand and very much respect the "pleasure of the President"
prerogative, and that contrary to some press reports I have never,
in any way, argued or maneuvered for my retention. As a matter
of fact, to my way of thinking I have been particularly fortunate to
have had so much time in public service--nearly 27 consecutive
years--and to have been honored in that time as few will ever be.
So I leave in the healthiest possible frame of mind, and with a high
spirit.
Perhaps I should go on to tell you, Mr. President, that no one could
have been more delighted or re-energized than I when you assumed
the Presidency. I felt somehow that we shared many of the same
attitudes and principles. Thus, in every respect, I have been your
man at the FAA, and advanced over the period of my stewardship
what I have seen as long overdue, not always popular, but certainly
remedial, proposals in the kind of forthright manner I know you
would approve.
I came to the FAA to immerse myself in the National Airspace
System, to become intimately familiar with its operation by piloting
aircraft personally and often throughout its vast network of facilities,
to manage it firmly and well. I came to put everything I had into
Page 2
building and promoting U. S. civil aviation leadership at home and
abroad, to call the shots strictly as I saw them, to do a good job
and to really care; and most importantly, to raise the level of
Federal responsiveness to the public need.
What all of this means now I am not quite sure, but I can tell you
absolutely without reservation that the Agency is one of the finest
organizational elements in your Administration, with a spirit and
sense of dedication second to none. Knowledgeable people have re-
cently attested to that, I know; yet I feel I owe to the men and women
actually responsible some mention directly to you of the fact that
significant strides have indeed been made toward improving aviation
safety and further ensuring air transportation security. In short, I
am tremendously proud of our record and of those who work so hard
here on a day-to-day basis to accomplish and achieve.
Incidentally, I was pleased that your staff asked me to assist in rec-
ommending a successor. I truly appreciated that confidence and have
already provided a list of candidates. There are a good many especi-
ally fine people in the aviation community who possess the leadership
and managerial ability to carry on the goals and objectives program
now begun. It seems there is rather widespread agreement that the
FAA's recently gained momentum in the areas of accident prevention
and survivability will pay big dividents in Calendar Year 1975, making
it the safest flying year in our history. I'll be watching with undiminished
interest and enthusiasm.
Finally, Mr. President, I want to say that without question the citizens
of this country are as one in admiring the qualities you and your fine
family represent. I wish your Administration every success.
Respectfully,
Alexander BlexandenP.Butter2ield P. Butterfield
Administrator