Air Traffic Controllers are tested on the job almost every day, but we rarely hear about them unless something awful happens.
Monday night in Orlando, the National Air Traffic Controllers Association celebrated the best of the best, presenting Archie League Medal of Safety Awards to 17 men and women who performed gracefully under pressure, almost certainly saving lives in the process.
Jessica Hermsdorfer was honored for smoothly guiding an Airbus 319 to a safe landing in Kansas City after losing an engine to a bird strike (like the Miracle on the Hudson, bird strikes are unfortunately common and potentially terrifying for pilots, passengers and crew).
Louis Charles Ridley helped a pilot stuck above the clouds who couldn’t fly with instruments alone find a way to punch through and make it to another airfield, even sending his wife to pick the pilot up and drive him home.
Controller Troy Decker is also a pilot who was able to help another pilot with engine troubles find a way down.
And a total of 6 ATC’s helped coach a passenger fly and land a plane after the pilot DIED on takeoff. Doug White had experience flying smaller planes but had never handled the controls of a two-engine King Air. With the ATC’s guiding his every move, he managed to take the craft off auto-pilot, manuevering around the deceased pilot, safely landing in Fort Myers with his wife and daughters white-knuckling it in the back.
Paul Rinaldi, President of the organization, writes “The ability to think quickly and remain calm under pressure while maintaining situational awareness are all unique qualities that air traffic controllers and flight service station employees possess. They all have a willingness to jump right in to resolve complex situations, offer a reassuring voice to those on the frequency and coordinate their efforts with other controllers.”
They may be modest, but their work, Paul writes, “is often viewed by others as remarkable and extrodinary.”
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