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W E D N E S D AY, M A R C H 2 3 , 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. On April 18, 2015, Donald Blatnik was training Kenneth Scheele during a busy session on East Departure at Central Florida TRACON (F11) when the pilot of A Cessna reported low engine pressure and requested to land at the nearest airport. Blatnik immediately took over the position and frequency in order to assist the aircraft. The pilot reported that his engine and oil pressure were rapidly worsening while Blatnik continued to work the other aircraft in his saturated airspace. Blatnik was updating the pilot with the location of nearby aircraft and the distance to the nearest airport, Space Coast Regional Airport (TIX), when the pilot declared an emergency. Blatnik continued to relay important information to the struggling pilot. Scheele coordinated a descent path with the controller in charge of the lower airspace, directing aircraft away from the Cessna. Scheele also coordinated with the tower at TIX to ensure there would be no traffic in the aircraft's path. At this point, the pilot was beginning to sound extremely stressed, but Blatnik's calm and steady communications to the pilot ensured his safe descent. Blatnik cleared him for visual approach to TIX and the aircraft landed safely, but caught fire on the runway shortly after the pilot safely exited the aircraft. Blatnik and Scheele's quick actions and successful teamwork that day saved the pilot's life. DONALD BLATNIK III F11 KENNETH SCHEELE F11 Late at night on Oct. 11, 2015, at Dallas/Love Field (DAL) a Piper had a clear takeoff from Runway 13. Shortly after liftoff, however, the aircraft suffered a complete electrical failure. The pilot called 911 from his personal cell phone to attempt to get in communication with the tower, but the call was dropped. The quick-thinking dispatcher called the tower and informed the controllers on duty that a pilot in an emergency situation had attempted to call them. The pilot called 911 again and was patched through to the tower where Wade H. Martin IV was working. Martin spoke to the pilot and arranged for a low approach with runway lights turned all the way up so the pilot could make better visual contact with the airport. Controller Nick Valadez took over all frequencies and all aircraft on the ground so Martin could focus on assisting the pilot. Valadez asked the pilots of two different aircraft and the driver of an airport operations vehicle, which were all on the tarmac, to look up at the Piper to check its landing gear status. All three reported that the landing gear was down, which Martin relayed to the pilot. The pilot flew a left traffic pattern and indicated he would conduct a "deadstick landing" – when an aircraft loses all of its propulsive power and is forced to land. The gear remained down during the landing and the pilot came to a stop within the first 1,700 feet of the 7,752-foot runway. The driver of the airport operations vehicle reported to Martin and Valadez that the aircraft had safely landed. WADE H. MARTIN IV dal NICK VALADEZ dal On Nov. 18, 2015, a Cessna departed Runway 28 from Monterey Regional Airport (MRY), heading for Lincoln Regional Airport (LHM). When the pilot reached 4,500 feet, he experienced a tumultuous ride, which he reported to ATC and requested to return to MRY. Suddenly, the aircraft's altitude dropped to 1,800 feet in a dangerous, spiraling turn. The pilot relayed that he was having difficulty maintaining his heading and could not get back up to a good altitude. Nines stayed very calm and asked the pilot if he was OK. The pilot responded, "No." Nines advised him to roll his wings and make sure they were level. Nines, Hoppe, and Ramirez worked well together to assist the nervous pilot. Nines advised him that turning during the climb was not necessary and was hindering his ability to maintain his flight heading. Hoppe and Ramirez began scouting out the weather at nearby airports and suggested Nines instruct the pilot to climb to visual flight rules conditions. Nines informed the pilot that nearby Castle Airport (MER) was reporting visual meteorological conditions (VMC). During this time, the pilot's aircraft experienced two more upsets and loss of altitude. Each time, Nines quickly determined that it involved an unintentional turn and instructed the pilot to cease rolling the aircraft. Thanks to the teamwork displayed by Nines, Hoppe, and Ramirez, the pilot was able to land at MER without incident. LUIS RAMIREZ nct WILLIAM L. HOPPE JR. nct RYAN NINES nct 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 Southern Region winners Donald Blatnik III (F11) and Kenneth Scheele (F11), Southwest Region winners Wade H. Martin IV (DAL) and Nick Valadez (DAL), and Western Pacific Region winners Ryan Nines (NCT), William L. Hoppe Jr. (NCT), and Luis Ramirez (NCT).

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