John H. Shaffer

John H. Shaffer was an administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration from March 24 1969 until March 14 1973. Most notably, he was the administrator during an en-masse calling-in sick strike of air traffic controllers during 1969. In the summer of that year, Shaffer himself testified in front of a congressional committee, reporting that air traffic controllers were neither overworked nor underpaid. [ [http://libcom.org/library/unfriendly-skies-the-air-traffic-controllers-sick-out-1969 "Unfriendly skies - The air traffic controllers' sick-out, 1969"] retrieved on April 27 2007] Shaffer's testimony, coupled with increased pressure on individual controllers to return to their jobs, Francis Lee Bailey of the Professional Air Traffic Controllers Organization stated "This guy Shaffer has got to go." ["Time Magazine [http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,943943,00.html One Man's Slow-Motion Aerial Act] " retrieved on April 27 2007] The FAA and Shaffer were both later attacked by the PATCO for continuing to operate despite the low number of air traffic controllers. ["Time Magazine [http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,943943,00.html One Man's Slow-Motion Aerial Act] " retrieved on April 27 2007]

Following his retirement from his position in the FAA, Shaffer was involved in the ongoing debate over both the inclusion of Microwave landing systems in civil aviation during 1978 and to whom the contract for construction of such devices should be awarded, American, British or German companies. Shaffer himself agreed with British assessments that the American manufactured MLS system was inferior and poorly tested. ["Time Magazine [http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,919565-1,00.html A New MLS, But Whose?"] retrieved on April 27 2007]

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