Just another lonely 'nugget'...
Eye on the Sky Worthy of Praise
Controller averted possible jet crash
January 27, 2007 - Pensacola News Journal
Veteran air traffic controller J.D. Smith of Pensacola is going to Washington to be honored with a major safety award for averting a possible disaster last fall at Pensacola Regional Airport.
Smith will be honored Monday by the National Air Traffic Controllers Association for his action that prevented an incoming Northwest Airlink passenger jet from landing on a runway that was closed and littered with heavy machinery and debris.
He will receive the Archie League Medal of Safety Award, named for the nation's first air traffic controller.
In announcing the award, the Association said Smith's "keen awareness of the airspace prevented a possible major runway accident from occurring."
"This save is remarkable for several reasons," said NATCA Southern Region Safety Representative Perry Doggrell. "For him to notice a plane was lined up on the wrong runway, two or three miles out from the airport, from a radar screen is incredible. There were no windows, so he could not look outside and see the aircraft approaching. He only had his radar screen."
Full Article
http://www.pensacolanewsjournal.com/...701270323/1006