Edward Lee Jett

1918-2008
 

E. Lee Jett, 90, who retired in 1980 as chief of international operations in the Federal Aviation Administration's liaison branch, died April 20 at his home in Fort Washington. He had atherosclerosis and cardiovascular disease. As chief of international operations, Mr. Jett helped certify foreign air carriers and their pilots.

He spent more than 30 years in what became the FAA, for many years as a safety inspector. In the 1960s, he played a leading role advising the Turkish government on modernizing its air-traffic-control network and establishing air routes between Turkey, Iran and Pakistan.

He was a recipient of the FAA Distinguished Career Service Award

Edward Lee Jett was a Baltimore native and a 1941 graduate of the University of Baltimore law school.

During World War n, he served as an Army Air Forces test pilot. He participated in the development of the assault glider used in the Normandy invasion and was among the first certified helicopter pilots in his military branch. He retired from the Air Force Reserves in 1977 as a lieutenant colonel.

After his FAA retirement, Mr. Jett was a consultant to the International Civil Aviation Organization and briefly worked as a real estate agent.

He was a member of Foundry United Methodist. Church in Washington and attended Providence-Fort Washington United Methodist Church. His hobbies included tennis, boating and gardening.

His first wife, Nina Lee Jett, whom he married in 1943,died in 1955.

Survivors include his wife of 50 years, Hildegard Geyer Jett of Fort Washington; a son from his first marriage, Lee D. Jett  of Falls Church; a son from his second marriage, retired Air Force Lt. Col. Thomas W. Jett of Yorktown, Va.; two sisters, Downing Kay of Towson, Md., and Lillian Stevens of Lovettsville; and four grandchildren.