VERON VI IK S AND TRANSPORTATION 



785 



report favoring the American-FAA-ICAO decision. He also wrote 

 strongly worded letters to DOT Secretary Brock Adams and FAA 

 Administrator Langhorne Bond in June and July, expressing the 

 determination (on committee stationery) that the FAA must "take 

 positive action" to declare the TRSB a national standard. Milford 

 sprinkled his letters with phrases like "absolutely imperative"; and 

 "not only can this he done, but it must be done." He warned that 

 the Defense Department was hanging on the results of the FAA 

 decision. 



The letters closely followed the general line of thinking in the 

 FAA. A majority of the subcommittee, with no foreknowledge of 

 Milford's action, became incensed to discover they had not been 

 consulted or even sent copies of these strong policy letters. Wydler 

 launched a powerful counter-attack when news of what Milford had 

 done leaked back. Wydler initiated an August 4 letter, signed by 9 

 Members (8 on the subcommittee) urging DOT Secretary Adams to 

 conduct field tests of both the doppler and the TRSB systems on a fair 

 and open basis. Wydler's letter stated: 



Our main interest is to see that the United States and the rest of the world 

 obtain the very best precision approach system. It is likely both systems under 

 consideration are good ones and the question is which has the advantage, if either. 

 In seeking the truth, we should be most careful to make sure that our international 

 relationships are not damaged and that all the proceedings are conducted in a totally 

 open and honest manner. 



The lobbying rose to a new crescendo, with charges and counter- 

 charges being thrown around on both sides. While Milford and the 

 FAA were attacking the United Kingdom, alleging fraudulent claims 

 and excessive pressure tactics on behalf of the doppler system, the 

 other camp was contending that the FAA had won a narrowly favor- 

 able decision from the ICAO through equally reprehensible tactics. 

 Milford telephoned Fuqua and persuaded him to write Secretary 

 Adams and dissociate his name from the Wydler round-robin letter, 

 which Fuqua did on August 16. But that still left 4 Democrats and 4 

 Republicans whose signatures were on the August 4 letter. 



In September 1977, during the fall hearings on FAA R. 8c D., the 

 issue bubbled to the surface again. One salutary result was that at- 

 tendance at the subcommittee, which had been lagging, suddenly 

 zoomed upward. Not only did subcommittee members show up in 

 force, but Milford welcomed Harkin, an accomplished pilot and 

 member of the full committee, who asked to take part in the question- 

 ing because he had taken an interest in the MLS systems. Harkin 

 declared: 



I guess I am not interested so much in picking the American system or picking 

 the British system. What I am interested in picking is the safest system, the best 

 system, compatible with a>st. 



