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'Last August, the pilot of a small aircraft in remote, nor thern
Alaska was critically shor t of fuel, unable to find a safe landing spot and called
for help. For tunately, the controller on the other end of the radio was Fairbanks
Tower veteran controller John Brown.
"John did more than just offer to help, he worked as par t of a team with the
Fairbanks TRACON and Anchorage Center controllers, using his years of ATC
experience to quickly assess the problem and find a solution. When solution A
didn't work, John used the skills and unique local area knowledge, developed in
over 20 years of ATC service in Alaska, to find solution B – aver ting a possible
tragedy.
"These days our employer doesn't value the impor tance of experience, team-
work and specific local area knowledge that veteran controllers bring. The
agency's comments on John's impor tant actions included the following; 'result-
ed in measurable benefits of moderate value and limited application.'"
"I couldn't disagree with the agency's statement more and I'm sure the pilot
and his family would agree with me."
Rick Thompson
Alaskan Regional Vice President
