THE WHITE HOUSE

Office of the Press Secretary

      PRESIDENT CLINTON NAMES JAMES E. HALL CHAIR OF THE NATIONAL 
                      TRANSPORTATION SAFETY BOARD

The President today announced the nomination of James E. Hall of Tennessee as Chair of the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB).

Mr. Hall has served as Chair of the NTSB since his appointment by President Clinton on September 30 of 1994. Mr. Hall has served as a Member of the Board since October 15, 1993. Prior to coming to the NTSB, Mr. Hall was the Chief of Staff to Senator Harlan Matthews and served for six years as Executive Assistant to Tennessee Governor Ned McWherter. Mr. Hall is a veteran of the U.S. Army and received the Bronze Star for meritorious service in Vietnam. He is a native of Tennessee and received his J.D. from the University of Tennessee.

During his tenure at the Board, Mr. Hall has been the Board Member on scene at a number of major accident investigations, including the October 1994 crash of an American Eagle ATR-72 in Roselawn, Indiana; the December 1994 crash of an American Eagle Jetstream near Raleigh, North Carolina; and four rail accidents, including February's New Jersey Transit collision in Secaucus.

Mr. Hall has chaired three Safety Board aviation public hearings. In January he was awarded an Aviation Laurel by Aviation Week and Space Technology Magazine for his leadership in pursuing the cause of the crash of US Air flight 427 in Pittsburgh and for his efforts to upgrade flight data recorders on U.S. airliners.

The National Transportation Safety Board is an independent agency that determines the probable cause of transportation accidents and promotes transportation safety throughout the nation. The NTSB conducts safety studies, evaluates the effectiveness of government agencies' transportation safety programs, and reviews appeals of adverse actions by the U.S. Department of Transportation regarding pilot and mariner certificate licenses.

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