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14 James Kmetz Terre Haute Air Traffic Control Tower On the afternoon of Saturday, December 15, 2007, James Kmetz was working local control inside the Hulman Regional Airport Tower in Terre Haute, Ind. The Illinois-based pilot of a Cessna 182 – Ronald Wick – called and asked for clearance to descend to 2,400 feet due to icing in the area. Kmetz cleared the pilot to 2,400 and advised him of the worsening weather conditions with a recommendation to consider landing immediately. Kmetz, a 23-year veteran controller, was forced to switch to a back-up radio to communicate with the pilot and began to vector him towards the ILS approach to Runway 5 at Hulman. While Kmetz was working to get him established on the localizer, the pilot began to descend without approval, dropping to 1,100 feet in an area where the safe Minimum Vectoring Altitude (MVA) was 2,200 feet. Kmetz urged the pilot to climb but Wick could not. Kmetz began identifying obstacles that might be in the air- craft's general vicinity. "Just to give you an idea of what's around that area," Kmetz said. "There's a hospital up to the north of that area, and right ahead of you there may be some higher towers near the top of the hospital." Kmetz also warned that "navigation is your responsibility here or climb and maintain 2,200." Kmetz continued to warn the pilot of the towers, indicating he did not know the exact heights. Just then, Wick acknowl- edged spotting one atop the hospital. Kmetz continued to direct the pilot towards the airport, using landmarks on the ground, including a mall, gas sta- tions, a McDonald's restaurant, and multiple intersections. Finally, the pilot spotted the runway and was cleared to land on Runway 5. The minute the aircraft touched down the pilot radioed, "We've got some problems here." Upon landing, the pilot lost control of the aircraft and the propeller struck the runway. Kmetz immediately sent crash and fire rescue equipment to the scene. Public Safety Officer G.D. Barnett, who had been listening to the radio communication between Kmetz and the pilot, responded to the emergency call and later wrote in a report of the inci- dent the following: "The plane had a good amount of ice on it. The front vents were clogged, and all leading edges had rime ice on them. Needless to say, the 182 was not equipped for icing conditions. "I believe that if it was not for Controller Kmetz' actions and knowledge of the areas, those people would have died somewhere over the south end of Terre Haute, Indiana," added Barnett. Louis Becker, the Line Service Technician who also respond- ed to the emergency call, wrote: "Damages (to the plane) included a crushed nose gear and wheel fairing, along with a propeller strike. As estimation, the aircraft had accumulat- ed approximately 75lbs of rime and clear ice. I consider the couple lucky to an extreme and I commend the air traffic controller for saving their lives." Upon exiting the aircraft, the pilot's wife reported she thought they were "goners." Only Kmetz's expertise and knowledge of the area, including landmarks, prevented a tragedy from taking place. G R E AT L A K E S R E G I O N

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