WASHINGTON
- FAA Administrator Randy Babbitt resigned yesterday as head of the Federal Aviation Administration following his arrest over the weekend on charges of drunken driving.
Babbitt was about halfway through a five-year term. Deputy FAA Administrator Michael Huerta will serve as acting administrator.
Babbitt, 65, was arrested Saturday night in Fairfax City, Va., by a patrolman who reported that the nation's top aviation official had been driving on the wrong side of the road.
Babbitt said in a statement that he had submitted his resignation to Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood and it had been accepted.
"I am unwilling to let anything cast a shadow on the outstanding work done 24 hours a day, seven days a week by my colleagues at the FAA," Babbitt said.
It is the police department's policy to disclose the arrests of public officials. Babbitt, who lives in nearby Reston, Va., was the only occupant in the vehicle, police said. He cooperated and was released on his own recognizance, they said. They refused to disclose the results of Babbitt's blood alcohol test. The legal limit is .08.