Wisconsin air traffic controller gets high praise for helping novice pilot

March 26, 2010

--

Mar. 25--The plane, a Cessna, had taken off from the Baraboo-Dells Airport, headed for Illinois.

It was just a few minutes after takeoff when the pilot called air traffic control in Madison to report an emergency.

"Flew into absolutely no visibility," the man said. "I need your help getting out of here."

It was a snow squall. Kristin Danninger, the air traffic controller who took the call at the Dane County Regional Airport that day, the afternoon of Jan. 1, had heard earlier from a medical helicopter pilot that there were snow showers in the area.

Danninger asked the Cessna pilot if he could see well enough to climb. The controller term is VFR -- visual flight rules.

"I can't climb VFR," the pilot said. "I'm in zero visibility."

Danninger said, "Do you have any instrument training?"

"I have zero instrument training," the pilot said.

That's not entirely unusual. There are recreational pilots who just enjoy sightseeing and would have little reason to be trained on instruments.

But what the pilot said next definitely got Danninger's attention.

"Not that this will make you feel any better," he said. "But I just got my pilot's license yesterday."

Recalling that moment this week, Danninger said, "I don't even want to tell you what I thought, honestly." She paused. "I thought he was going to need a lot of help."

Danninger, 38, has been an air traffic controller for 15 years, and in Madison since 2000.

Originally from Bismarck, N.D., she studied aviation at the University of North Dakota and gave some thought to being a professional pilot.

"I decided I didn't want to be away from home that often," Danninger said. She chose air traffic control instead.

Five years ago, Danninger nominated one of her Dane County air traffic controller colleagues, Dan Hemenway, for the Archie League Medal of Safety Award after Hemenway had helped a pilot confused by fog narrowly avoid a crash. (The award is named for the first air traffic controller and is presented by the National Air Traffic Controllers Association.)

Danninger had never found herself in a similar situation -- until the afternoon of Jan. 1.

When the pilot mentioned he had received his license only the day before, Danninger was reassuring.

"You're doing fine for now," she said.

Danninger calmly suggested the pilot fly east, toward the Portage airport, where the weather was believed to be better. Unfortunately the squall was also moving in that direction, and even after descending a bit the Cessna pilot could not see the Portage airport.

"It's not going to happen," he said.

Danninger decided the best option was to try to get the plane to Madison. "I turned him southbound," she recalled.

She was monitoring the plane's altitude and on a couple of occasions had to remind the pilot to climb.

"You're on a good heading for the Madison airport," Danninger said. A few moments later, she added, "Can you see the ground yet?"

He couldn't, not yet.

"We have all the runway lights and approach lights on high," Danninger said.

The pilot was within two miles of the airport but still couldn't see it.

"Do you see the interstate highway below you and to your right?" Danninger said. "If you'd like to follow that as it goes a little to the southeast, that will take you close to the runway."

A moment later the pilot said, "I believe I have the runway in sight."

Before he landed -- safely -- he said to Danninger, "I appreciate your help."

"You're welcome," she said.

This week, Danninger was in Florida, where she received the Archie League Medal of Safety Award for her actions that day -- the same award she'd nominated her colleague for in 2005.

But really, Danninger's most sincere reward might have come on Jan. 2, when the pilot drove back to Madison from Illinois specifically to thank her for helping him down the day before.

"He kept thanking me, and it was just fabulous," Danninger said. "It made me proud. That was the best."