Author Biography
DAN McKINNON is an expert in commercial aviation travel and survival. He currently is the owner and president of North American Airlines based at JFK International Airport. North American is a worldwide large jet charter and scheduled airline flying B757 and new generation B737-800 aircraft. From 1981 to 1985 he served as Chairman of the Civil Aeronautics Board. He was appointed by President Ronald Reagan and oversaw implementation of airline deregulation during the tumultuous period of bankruptcies and adjustment from a government-regulated industry to one controlled by the marketplace. Mr. McKinnon played a key role in U.S. international aviation policy and negotiations for air-route agreements with countries around the world. On December 31, 1984, McKinnon oversaw the shutdown of the 46-year-old Civil Aeronautics Board in accordance with the President's wishes--the first government regulatory agency ever closed. McKinnon formerly owned and operated two radio stations in San Diego for 23 years and spent 4 years as publisher of a newspaper in La Jolla, California. A former Navy pilot, who specialized in rescue efforts and techniqes, McKinnon holds the Navy peacetime helicopter rescue record with 62 air-sea saves. In the middle 1980s he did special projects for the Director of the Central Intelligence Agency. As part of his military training, and continuously since that time, he has done extensive study in survival, captive, and POW situations.
