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T U E S D AY, M A R C H 2 2 , 2 0 1 6 N AT C A D A I LY D I S PAT C H 6 MEDAL OF SAFETY AWARDS ARCHIE LEAGUE Thank you to everyone who submitted nominations in 2015. The nomination period for 2016 has already begun! Archie League Awards Coordinator Sarah Zilonis is working on a new submission form for nominations of events occurring in the calendar year of 2016. That form will soon be available at natca.org. In the meantime, please contact Sarah at szilonis@natcadc.org with your nomination. David Kilgus plugged in on position on March 10, 2015, and began working a Piper Comanche. The pilot was flying to CMH having begun his long journey from Guatemala. Weather in the area was instrument flight rules (IFR) with a 200-foot cloud ceiling and a half-mile of visibility. Kilgus began vectoring him to instrument landing system (ILS) Runway 10R, but the pilot was having a hard time understanding his instructions. English was not the pilot's first language, and the difficult flying conditions combined with the lengthy flight made that barrier harder to overcome. Suddenly, the pilot made a hard right turn towards final approach without instruction, directly into oncoming, inbound traffic. Kilgus immediately caught the pilot's error and issued him a hard right turn and again began vectoring him towards Runway 10R for a second landing attempt. The pilot was having a hard time maintaining the ILS, his altitude, and flight course. Kilgus was continuously giving corrections as well as the ILS frequency when the pilot asked Kilgus to, "keep an eye on me." The pilot was unable to navigate the ILS approach so Kilgus decided to offer him the location of a nearby satellite airport, Rickenbacker International (LCK). After a failed first approach into LCK, the pilot reported he had run out of fuel. Kilgus relayed to him the distance to LCK and, after a few intense seconds, the pilot reported that he was able to transfer fuel from his other tank. Kilgus was then able to safely work the pilot into LCK, all while working other air traffic on final approach to CMH. DAVID KILGUS CMH On April 20, 2015, the pilot of a Mooney M20 was experiencing a gear malfunction. Joseph J. White was on position and began assisting the pilot, who was having a hard time staying calm. White told the pilot, "It's OK, we're going to work with you on this," and took control. Adding to the difficult situation, the airport surveillance radar antenna (ASR-9) at PVD was out of service, which was causing loss of radar contact with aircraft below 2,000 feet in the vicinity of the airport. The PVD front line manager (FLM) at the time began coordinating from another scope to help White track the aircraft by using long-range radar (LRR). This helped White identify the aircraft's location at low altitudes. The pilot reported his GPS and auto-pilot were inoperative. White attempted to vector him towards the airport for nearly 40 minutes, then initiated no-gyro vectors for ILS Runway 5 at PVD. But the pilot was unable to intercept the localizer, so at the FLM's direction, White advised the pilot to descend to 1,200 feet — well below the minimum vectoring altitude in that area. Because of this lower altitude, the pilot of N5773S was able to break through the low cloud ceiling and identify nearby Quonset (OQU) airport, visually. The pilot inquired if he could attempt to proceed to PVD, but White knew that with the pilot's equipment failures and options for handling them running out, the pilot should attempt to land at OQU. White's quick actions and calm, reassuring tone ensured that the pilot was able to land the malfunctioning aircraft safely. JOSEPH J. WHITE PVD Joshua J. Pate was working the departure east sector at S46, which borders the 14,411-foot Mount Rainier and the Cascade Mountain Range, when the pilot of a single-engine Cessna 150 departed Ranger Creek Airport. The pilot planned to follow the White River valley northwest towards lower terrain and eventually land at Boeing Field (BFI). But when the visual flight rules (VFR) pilot turned the aircraft to follow the valley to the west, he encountered a wall of clouds. "I am lost in the clouds, in the mountains and a VFR pilot…help me," the pilot said to Pate. He was at 5,900 feet. Pate pulled up his emergency obstruction video map (EOVM) map and saw that the aircraft was less than five miles north of a 6,400 foot elevation profile and seven miles west of another rise in terrain. As an experienced controller, Pate knew that the most important thing he could do was help the pilot establish a straight and level flight. When the pilot informed him that he was having navigation issues, Josh immediately began issuing no-gyro vectors. The pilot began circling because of his disorientation and inability to get a sense of his direction without his instruments. Pate continued to provide these vectors for an additional five minutes. Thanks to Pate's experience and expertise, the inexperienced pilot was able to overcome conditions that normally would have caused a fatal incident for the pilot and his passenger. The pilot was eventually able to break his aircraft through the clouds and continue to his destination safely. JOSHUA J. PATE S46 For the last 12 years, the Archie League Medal of Safety Awards banquet has paid homage to heroic flight assists that exemplify the dedication, professionalism, and commitment of our members. This year is no different. We are featuring winners in each issue of the Daily Dispatch so you can better understand the events that led them to win the award. Today we have the honor of introducing Great Lakes Region winner David Kilgus (CMH), New England Region winner Joseph J. White (PVD), and Northwest Mountain Region winner Joshua J. Pate (S46).

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