David Stone, the first federal security director at Los Angeles International Airport who quickly rose to become the third head of the Transportation Security Administration, has died. He was 57.

Stone had traveled from his home in India to Arlington, Va., last week to attend an awards ceremony honoring TSA employees, then died sometime during the weekend, officials said Tuesday.

The cause of death was not immediately reported.

"We are grateful for his service to our country and his dedication to the mission and people of the TSA," officials with the TSA said in a written statement.

A Naval Academy graduate, Stone ended his 28-year career as a rear admiral for the Navy in April 2002.

Months later he was appointed as the first federal security director at LAX, where Stone pledged to identify security gaps at the nation's third-busiest airport.

During his 11-month stint, Stone oversaw the transition that allowed 2,700 federal security workers to assume control of passenger screening checkpoints at LAX, a duty that was once relegated to private companies contracted by the airlines.