Sean O'Keefe Led NASA During Columbia Disaster

(Aug. 10) -- Sean O'Keefe, who built a career out of managing crises, apparently survived the crash of a small private plane in southwest Alaska that killed five of the nine passengers, including former U.S. Senator Ted Stevens, according to several media reports. O'Keefe's son also survived, the reports said.

Stevens and O'Keefe were longtime friends and fishing companions and had talked of making a fishing trip together, another longtime friend, William Canfield, told the Anchorage Daily News. But it was unclear whether that's why they were on the plane together.

O'Keefe, a former government policy professor at Syracuse University, is the CEO of the massive European Aeronautic Defense & Space Co.'s (EADS) North American division. He also was secretary of the Navy from 1992 to 1993 in the first Bush administration, where he oversaw the aftermath of the Tailhook scandal, in which Navy officials impeded an investigation into allegations of sexual improprieties at a naval conference.

In the second Bush administration he was deputy director of the Office of the Management and Budget before being appointed to lead NASA, where he developed a reputation as a bean counter, dismissed by some for his lack of experience with aerospace.

He was in charge when the shuttle Columbia disintegrated as it re-entered the atmosphere, killing all seven crewmembers. Another assignment was to implement President George W. Bush's plan to revive explorations of the moon and Mars.

O'Keefe left NASA in February 2005 to become chancellor of Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, just in time for Hurricane Katrina.

"The LSU community is deeply concerned about Sean and his family at this difficult time of uncertainty," LSU Chancellor Michael Martin said in a statement. "Sean is a valued member of the LSU family, and our thoughts and prayers are with him. We also offer our prayers to everyone affected by this tragedy."

O'Keefe returned to aerospace in 2008 as CEO of EADS North American division. There, he was overseeing EADS' efforts to win Air Force contracts for 170 new-generation aerial refueling tankers.

The fight has taken on significant international political overtones, sparking a trade dispute as U.S. officials complained that European Union subsidies to EADS gave the company an unfair advantage over Boeing. The Europeans have countered that Boeing has received improper U.S. subsidies.