Controversy follows Wasilla airport manager

August 20, 2006

By MARY AMES

Frontiersman

WASILLA - A man the city of Wasilla had considered granting more authority has an expired business license, made enemies with the Alaska Air Carriers Association and was pushed out of his management position with the Federal Aviation Administration, according to state records and news reports.

But that's all news to Tom Westall, Wasilla's airport manager and the target of several local pilots' animosity.

A call to the phone number listed for the Wasilla airport manager rings at Templar Research and Investigations, a private business owned by Westall, who was appointed by Mayor Dianne M. Keller.

Westall said his business's post office box is in Wasilla, but he works statewide as an attorney on FAA cases, defending pilots in trouble with the agency.

State records show the business license for Templar Research and Investigations expired in December 1999. Westall said he wasn't aware his business license had expired.

&#8220I'll have to check,” he said. &#8220I need to get it renewed, I guess.”

Westall's six-page resume touts his years managing the Alaska Region of the Flight Standards Division for the Federal Aviation Administration. However, his work there prompted a protest from airlines in the state.

In 13 months in the late 1980s, Westall helped shut down at least six airlines, including Channel Air, a 25-year-old Juneau air charter service, according to news reports from that time. Other airlines that reportedly closed with his help were Armstrong Air, Yute Air, Ryan Air, Glacier Bay Airways and Troy Air.

Concerned with the direction the FAA was headed, the Alaska Air Carriers Association went all the way to Washington, D.C., to give a &#8220no confidence” vote on Westall in February 1989, and ask that he be removed from his position, reports said.

John Hajdukovich, owner of Frontier Flying Service in Fairbanks, was president of the Air Carriers Association at the time. Contacted recently by phone, Hajdukovich recalled the events that resulted in Westall losing his FAA position.

&#8220He ruled the FAA with an iron fist,” Hajdukovich said. &#8220Everybody was in agreement they were glad to see him go. He would have got them all if he could have.”

Westall said Thursday he had 23 good years with the FAA, his career was rewarded with pay increases every year, and he had never heard the Air Carriers organized against him.

&#8220Did it do them any good?” Westall said, and laughed. &#8220This is the first I heard of it. The only thing I heard was I was doing a good job, and to keep it up. My masters were happy with me.”

There may have been negative comments once in a while, just like now, he said. If a delegation from the Air Carriers complained about him in the nation's capitol, his boss would have told him.

&#8220I'm not saying they didn't do it,” he said. &#8220But I would think I would know about it.”

He did know there were complaints out here and there, though.

&#8220I was chief of flight standards,” Westall said. &#8220Enforcement precipitates negative views. I retired because I didn't want to go to Washington, D.C. I had a very distinguished career, not one blemish.”

Westall wore a gun then as he does now, Hajdukovich said.

&#8220He wore a gun on his boot strap when he was with the FAA,” he said. &#8220He's always been a gun-toting guy.”

All law enforcement officers carry firearms for self defense, to keep people from hurting them, Westall said. Police officers have the highest number of fatalities during traffic stops, and while in the FAA, he stopped airmen and aircraft.

&#8220But I never drew a gun and I'm proud of that fact,” he said. &#8220I had guns stuck in my nose and all kinds of assaults. The times I had threats of bodily harm or death, I talked the guy out of it.”

Another complaint was that an air carrier was guilty until proven innocent under Westall, Hajdukovich said.

&#8220You didn't get to give your side of the story,” he said. &#8220If you tried to go around him, he would look at your airline pretty darn close.”

News reports from September 1989 stated that after its investigation, the FAA listed some of Westall's policy decisions that increased tensions between the industry and the agency:

€ A 1984 policy that required investigations of very small violations and threatened disciplinary actions against noncompliant inspectors.

€ A 1985 decision that mandated pilots get a report from certified weather observers within an hour before landing at rural airports.

€ A 1987 directive that banned pilots from removing or installing seats in small cargo and passenger airplanes.

€ A 1988 threat of high-dollar sanctions against non-compliant air carriers.

€ A 1989 decision to temporarily halt night operations at most Alaska airports due to high barometric pressure.

Westall said that he was brought to Alaska by the FAA specifically to reduce an accident rate that was the highest in the nation from 1982 to 1983.

&#8220My mandate was to bring the accident rate down and increase safety,” Westall said. &#8220We did bring it down to the lowest point ever. It's a matter of record.”

He never heard any of the charges stated in the news, Westall said. People thought he had a lot more authority than he actually did, he said.

&#8220I, personally, didn't do any of it,” he said. &#8220I had 75 investigators working for me. My organization only submitted investigative reports. The regional counsel was compelled to take certificate action. That's very well covered in Federal Aviation Regulation 13.”

He was the guy responsible for getting pilots special training so they could remove and install seats, Westall said. In 1984, there were handbook changes, but he didn't recall taking discretion away from inspectors.

Westall was replaced by Tom Stuckey as FAA manager in the summer of 1990, according to news reports.

The change in managers was because of FAA policy that a senior manager could stay in one place from three to five years, Westall said.

&#8220I had no idea these perceptions were out there,” he said. &#8220A lot of these things, when you get into government, it's a team situation, not unilateral. You're enforcing the rules of legislative intent.”

As for &#8220all this hubba hubba” at Wasilla airport, Westall said, look at his track record.

&#8220I've written three tickets in three years,” he said. &#8220I've written lots of warning tickets and asked people to comply, like I've done my whole life. I hope we can work through it and peace and harmony will prevail.”

Contact Mary Ames at

352-2284 or mary.ames@

frontiersman.com.