Air Traffic Controller, Warsaw Grad, Gets National Award For Saving Pilot
Posted
David Slone-dslone@timesuniononline.com
He may be too humble to admit it, but 1996 Warsaw Community High School graduate Darrin Andrew is a hero.
For his heroics, he was honored in Washington, D.C., Thursday.
Darrin Andrew received a national Corporate Aviation Save Award at the Federal Aviation Administration's headquarters. He was presented with a plaque from Randy Babbit, administrator of the FAA since President Barack Obama appointed him in May.Darrin Andrew, 32, of Auburn, Mich., is an air traffic controller at MBS International Airport. He and one other air traffic controller are the sole recipients of the national honor. The award encompasses the whole United States and it's one of the biggest awards a controller can earn.
According to the Saginaw News, on Aug. 23, while on duty at the airport, Andrew received an emergency call. The pilot of a private aircraft en route from Charlevoix to Pontiac had become disoriented in adverse weather.
Darrin Andrew helped talk the pilot through poor weather conditions over Flint, Mich., and to a safe landing at an airport near Freeland.
"I think he's excited" about receiving the award, said Barry Andrew, Darrin's brother. "Darrin is a pretty humble guy, and he doesn't like to make a big deal of things like this."
Darrin is a hard worker at MBS International Airport, Barry said. What happened on Aug. 23 was just another day on the job for him, Barry said.
How Darrin found out he was going to receive the award is a funny story, Barry said.
On his day off, Darrin received a text message from his manager. He ignored it at first, thinking they wanted him to come in to work overtime. After two more text messages with a lot of exclamation points, Darrin called back. At first, Barry said, Darrin thought they were just joking with him about getting the award.
"He's just a humble guy and he doesn't like to brag about himself," said Barry.
Barry was not sure who nominated Darrin for the award. He wasn't sure if Darrin knew who had nominated him either.
Darrin has been with the airport for more than eight years, Barry said. It's a very stressful environment trying to safely land planes all the time.
"I think all of the family is extremely proud of him," Barry said. "On a daily basis his job is to safely land planes. We're just thankful God put him where he needed to be at the right time."
Darrin is the son of Bonnie Andrew and grandson of Yolanda Polston. Besides Barry (and spouse Joy), his other brother is Ryan (and spouse Jaimi) Andrew. He also has many aunts, uncles and other relatives living in the Warsaw area.
