Fredericton air traffic controllers honoured for helping pilot land safely
Woodstock-bound pilot of ultralight got lost in low cloud cover and radioed for help
Four air traffic controllers working at the Fredericton airport tower a year ago have received a safety award for helping the pilot of a home made ultra-light airplane land after he got lost in cloud cover.
That's when we heard a faint radio transmission.John AuCoin, air traffic controller
Joshua Armstrong, Larry Arnold, John AuCoin and Ian Hanrahan were recognized by the Air Traffic Control Association for "the application of exceptional air traffic service providing assistance."
Armstrong, who had been on the job for five months, said it was a slow day at the airport and described the weather conditions as a bit cloudy with some fog and low visibility.
AuCoin added it had been busier earlier, but because of the weather, many planes were being put away because the cloud was coming down and showers were coming through the area.
"That's when we heard a faint radio transmission," AuCoin said. "It was very faint and in the distance and it was actually Josh that recognized who it was."
Pilot lost
Armstrong radioed the airplane, and the pilot, who was travelling from Havelock to Woodstock, told him he needed help because he was lost in the clouds.
A pilot himself, Armstrong said he realized the situation the pilot was in and set out to help him.
"As soon as he called, we got John to turn on the airport lights at maximum intensity, so he could see and it was to a point he could only see vertically straight down."
To determine the pilot's location, the controllers had a direction-finder beacon, which used his transmissions to provide the general bearings of the plane. They also got the pilot to describe the buildings he could make out immediately below him and used binoculars to try to find him.
"Basically, from landmarks, we brought him into Fredericton," said Armstrong. "He wasn't on our radar, he didn't have a transponder, there were no return signals."
Safe landing
The pilot was eventually able to get out of clouds and found the airport after 15 minutes.
He was "so thankful that he landed safely," Armstrong said.
AuCoin said most of the transmissions on the radio were the air traffic controllers trying to get information about where the pilot was located.
"Once we determined he was to the north of the airport … he was able to find the river and followed it southbound and he popped out of the cloud and landed without further incident."
The men in the tower worked as a team, just as they are trained to do by their employer, Nav Canada, which nominated them for the international award.
The pilot was a part of that team as well that day, AuCoin said.
"We did what we could to find the gentleman and he made it home safely."
Followed training
Both Armstrong and AuCoin said that until they heard the next day how the pilot felt about the experience, they were of the mindset they had just done the job they were trained to do.
For them, receiving the award was humbling.
"We didn't do anything unique as individuals that day. Anyone of our co-workers would have done the exact same thing," said AuCoin.
Both said they'd like to meet the pilot they helped that day a year ago.
With files from Catherine Harrop