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“Ladies ad gentlemen, we have
begun our descent. In preparation
for landing be certain your seat back
is straight up and your seat belt is
fastened.”
These are familiar words to airline
passengers, but most aren’t aware of the
technical work going on behind the scenes.
That specialty work is being done by the air
traffic controller who is constantly manning
the sky traffic via electronic equipment in the
radar room and the tower.
Just what is the job description for a
federal aviation air traffic controller like J. B.
Bowering from Brandon Mississippi who
mans his shifts each week? J.B. explains in
brief, “We keep planes from colliding.”
That’s a very concise explanation for an
extremely complicated and highly technical
skill in the world of aviation. It’s a thankless job,
but if there were no air traffic controllers, you
wouldn’t want to ever fly, according to J.B.
Long lists of steps requiring necessary
skills make the plane lift-offs, the in-flight
time, and the landings safe for passengers,
but involve intense concentration on the
part of the air traffic controllers. However,
J.B. seems to be at home in his hi-rise, tightly
secured workspace.
After graduating from Brandon High in
2001, he enrolled at Hinds Junior College but
quickly realized that college was not for him.
In 2002 he chose the Army for his next
chapter in life. A series of entry tests identified
his suggested areas of training, and ATC was
one of those areas.
After a year of basic training, J. B. was
schooled for four years in air traffic control,
spending his last year in Korea. His first civilian
position in his field was in Fort Myers, Florida,
for three and a half years. In 2010 he was
offered the opportunity to move back home
and work at the Jackson-Medgar Wiley Evers
International Airport.
On a typical day, J.B. works hours on one
of the five shifts that the controllers follow.
After signing in, he gets a briefing on
pertinent items affecting his work-time and
the weather report. From there it’s manning
one of a line of radar monitors that identifies
air traffic within forty miles, surface to 10,000
feet from the airport. Part of his shift will be in
the tower where the runways are in full view.
No pilot will take off or land without
clearance from the air traffic controller. For
planes leaving Jackson, J.B. will give the
pilots their routes to their destination, their
altitude, and speed. Mississippi is the air
“highway” to Atlanta, the busiest airport in
the world, and the Jackson team of air traffic
controllers monitor and direct those flights
through Mississippi.
There are days that traffic is light at the
airport, and then there are busy, high-traffic
days. All require 100% attention to the skies
and runways. “Our job is to maintain a sense
of safety and control in our flight and landing
communications with pilots,” J.B. reports,
“and people who have panic in their voices
don’t make it in this job.”
Only required breaks in a nearby room
give the team of controllers talk and visiting
time. Phones can’t go into the radar room or
tower, and each controller (up to four) must
stay concentrated on their monitor and
screens.
The continual shift rotations are a way
of life for J.B. and his family. His wife, Nicole,
navigates their daughter and two sons’
school and sports’ schedules when he is on
duty, and he works around Nicole’s work
schedule as a labor and delivery nurse at
River Oaks hospital.
The next time you step into an aircraft
or ride past any airport, give some thought
to those trained and dedicated air traffic
controllers who, though unnoticed, are
essential for our flight safety from lift off
to landing.
Hometown RANKIN • 53