MERIDIAN, Miss. — A Navy air traffic controller has been nominated for a national award after guiding a pilot to a successful emergency landing last year.
The Meridian Star reports that Air Traffic Controller 1st Class Jonathan Epperson has been nominated for the Navy’s 2018 Vice Admiral Robert B. Pirie Air Traffic Controller of the Year award.
Epperson works at Naval Air Station Meridian.
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Last October, he guided Boyd Williams through an emergency landing on U.S. 45 in Mississippi’s Clarke County after Williams’ plane experienced engine failure. No one was injured.
Williams says Epperson's composure that afternoon was a model for air traffic controllers.
A 16-year Navy veteran, Epperson served earlier in Hawaii, Washington and on board two aircraft carriers.
Epperson says teaching younger controllers is the most satisfying part of his job.
