John E. O'Brien served as the Director of the Engineering and Air Safety Department for the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA) for 22 years, retiring in 2004 with more than 32 years of service. He was responsible for all aspects of the ALPA air safety structure consisting of 5 technical groups, 19 geographical regions, the safety committees of 42 airlines and special programs support by over 700 pilot volunteers.
While at ALPA he also served on, or chaired, a number of industry and government advisory committees and special programs. He chaired the Executive Committee for the FAA Aviation Rulemaking and Advisory Committee 1992/93, served as Chairman of the RTCA Board of Directors and was a Member of the Flight Safety Foundation Board of Governors. His credentials include an M.B.A. from Stetson University and a B.S.A.S. from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University.
Prior to joining ALPA, Mr. O'Brien was employed by Pan American World Airways for seven years as an engineer at the Pan American Special Projects Office in Cocoa Beach, Florida. In addition to flying for Pan American, he was the project engineer for a NASA contract to study margins for space shuttle design, operations, and safety from an airline perspective.