Close Up Radio Spotlights Retired Aerospace Engineer Allan J. McDonald

Ogden, UT – Retired aerospace engineer Allan J. McDonald is the author of Truth, Lies, and O-rings: Inside the Space Shuttle Challenger Disaster, which recounts McDonald’s experiences on the day that the Space Shuttle Challenger exploded and examines the role of ethics in leadership.

“There have been several books written about Challenger, none by anybody involved in the event,” says McDonald. “I decided that an accurate historical record of what really happened was important.”

McDonald would later testify before the Rogers Commission, a presidential commission formed to investigate the accident. As he focused on the real reasons behind the disaster, McDonald was singled out for retribution by his employer, until the commission’s chairman William Rogers personally intervened. Today, McDonald is the only American ever to be reinstated to his job by an act of Congress.

As a result of his efforts, McDonald would be instrumental in implementing the changes that improved the safety of future missions.

“Leadership is about making tough decisions, it's lonely and difficult and sometimes impossible,” says McDonald. “That's why a more conservative approach is probably the wisest course.”

For more information, visit www.ethicskeynotespeaker.com

Truth, Lies, and O-rings: Inside the Space Shuttle Challenger Disaster is available on Amazon and Barnes & Noble.