Congratulations to our 2025 ATCA Award Winners
Andy Pitas Memorial Aircraft Save Award, Orlando Tower Air Traffic Controller Samonta Jones
On March 20th, 2025, at 9:30 a.m. Eastern time, Southwest Airlines Flight 3278, a Boeing 737-800 series, was preparing to depart from Orlando to Albany off Runway 17 Right. Due to ongoing construction, the aircraft was directed to taxi via Taxiway Hotel 2 rather than the usual full-length Taxiway Hotel 1. The taxiway runs parallel to that runway and runs the same length. In an important moment of vigilance, our award winner, the Local Controller, observed that Southwest 3278 had mistakenly attempted to depart from Taxiway Hotel at H2 instead of the runway. Recognizing the serious potential danger of the situation, our award winner acted swiftly to cancel the takeoff clearance with an urgent instruction: “Southwest Thirty-Two Seventy-Eight, stop, stop Southwest Thirty-Two Seventy-Eight, stop, cancel takeoff clearance, you’re on Hotel taxiway…” The pilots then slammed on the brakes to stop the aircraft. The aircraft’s top speed was 70 knots at the time, or approximately 80 mph. Airplanes typically travel about 35 mph on taxiways. A Boeing 737 would need to accelerate to about 150 mph for takeoff. Our award winner’s diligent scan and decisive action were the safety layers which prevented anything beyond hot brakes and the rescheduling of all the passengers on another aircraft.
ATCA's Award for Exceptional Service, the team at Hickory Regional Airport Control Tower
On September 26, 2024, Hurricane Helene ripped apart the northwest mountain areas of North Carolina. Helicopters became crucial on these rescue missions along with providing supplies. About 26 helicopters and their volunteer pilots touched down at Hickory Regional Airport in North Carolina to begin this effort. This RVA tower is in west-central North Carolina, northwest of Charlotte. There, aircraft lined up on an inactive runway as aid workers loaded them with medicine, diapers, baby formula and water. Every day after Hurricane Helene made landfall, helicopters were non-stop from Hickory into the Blue Ridge Mountains to deliver supplies and airlift stranded residents to safety. Helicopters were the only way to efficiently get in or out. “Operation Airdrop” was created. In the first 10 days, there were over 2,200 sorties flown out of Hickory. The controllers exceeded the daily traffic count, working long hours under less than optimum conditions, safely landing a few emergencies, and also a VIP arrival. During the beginning of this disaster, the tower communication line to Atlanta Center was inoperable as were all other air traffic communications means, including the administrative phone. The controllers had to coordinate via cell phone until most lines returned several weeks later. Additionally, the tower radar display was not available which made providing safety advisories quite difficult. Their flight data processing was also not available, adding to the controller workload. This operation provided millions of pounds of supplies, delivered 510 Starlink communication stations, and evacuated over 350 people. A total team effort.
ATCA Airway Transportation Systems Specialist of the Year Award, Franz Gayle
Miami Center supports one of the busiest and most complex airspaces in the world, managing over 6,000 flights and approximately 900,000 passengers daily across the continental United States, the Caribbean, and South America. The reliability of the systems supporting this airspace is critical to the safety and efficiency of the National Airspace System. This professional has made significant contributions to improving NAS resilience and operational reliability. He engineered and implemented an innovative A/B switching solution for ground-to-ground communications between Miami Center and Grand Turk island off the coast of Turks and Caicos, eliminating frequent failures and reducing response time during circuit outages. He also led the installation and integration of the Communication Remote Maintenance Monitor. That enabled Miami technicians to remotely monitor and control air-to-ground radio systems at multiple Caribbean sites, resulting in major savings in travel, time, and cost while improving system availability. Additionally, our award recipient played a key role in restoring and upgrading Environmental Remote Monitoring System capabilities in Puerto Rico and Saint Thomas, ensuring critical power and facility monitoring systems were fully operational ahead of hurricane season. As a subject-matter expert in serial and IP communications, he has been instrumental in supporting the Remote Maintenance Logging System (RMLS), including identifying a critical server issue that led to nationwide corrective action. Widely respected as a technical expert and trusted advisor, this professional’s work enhances NAS safety and reliability on both a regional and national scale.
General E.R. Quesada Memorial Award for Outstanding Civilian Air Traffic Control Manager of the Year, Tabatha Malott
Our winner was nominated by Midwest ATC. She is their Greenbrier Valley Airport FAA Contract Tower Air Traffic Manager. Located in Lewisburg, West Virginia, Greenbrier Valley Airport may be small, but it is a dynamic hub supporting both civilian and military aviation advancement. Last year, the airport remained remarkably active, hosting a diverse range of aviation and community events, including multiple aircraft fly‑ins, industry conventions, and visits from professional sports organizations. In addition to the wide range of duties and responsibilities that our award winner manages daily to ensure safe and efficient operations, she continually seeks innovative ways to improve the facility. She dedicates countless hours volunteering and stepping in wherever needed. Last year, she led the Midwest ATC Runway Safety Action Team program, supporting more than 100 air traffic managers. She conducted detailed reviews of Runway Safety Action Plans and tracked each one through final submission. She received consistent praise from FAA Runway Safety Program Managers and Runway Safety Teams across multiple regions for her exceptional expertise and responsiveness. Working closely with the LWB airport director, she played a key role in coordinating the installation of landing zone boxes on the runway to support current and future military operations. As a result, the West Virginia 130th Air National Guard (ANG) now recognizes this facility as one of their top training locations. This project required thorough planning, strong cross‑departmental communication, and a deep understanding of both FAA regulations and military operational needs. Additionally, she is a valuable member of the company’s Safety Management and Quality Assurance Operational Skills Assessment (OSA) Validator Program. In this role, she conducts thorough monthly evaluations of ten facilities, ensuring accuracy, compliance, and adherence to operational standards. She was also selected by the Area Manager to serve as one of three Area Mentors, a role in which her experience, leadership, and commitment to knowledge‑sharing form a foundation for the success of others. In addition, she serves as the airport site mentor for the Liberty University flight training school as air crews transition through the Airport, overseeing the identification and resolution of any issues, concerns, or operational challenges that arise.
ATCA Military Air Traffic Control Technician of the Year, Sergeant Jacob Gassaway
Throughout 2025, this technician has made a profound and measurable impact across the Air Traffic Control Expeditionary community through his technical expertise, instructional excellence, and unwavering dedication to mission success. His efforts directly enhanced operational readiness, safety, and effectiveness across multiple squadrons and supported both training and real-world operations. He conducted over 1,000 Training and Readiness (T&R) classes, accounting for more than 2,600 total training hours, ensuring the squadron met and exceeded Core Minimum Model Requirements. His instruction directly resulted in the qualification of nine Repairers and seven Technicians across five Military Occupational Specialties, significantly strengthening the unit’s technical depth and sustainment capability. Additionally, he provided specialized instruction to Air Traffic Controllers on advanced expeditionary radio operations, increasing their proficiency and adaptability in austere and dynamic environments. Demonstrating an inexhaustible work ethic, he performed over 2,000 hours of direct supervision on 100 work orders involving multimillion-dollar Air Traffic Control Expeditionary equipment. His meticulous oversight ensured equipment reliability, compliance with technical standards, and uninterrupted mission support. Over the past year, he also played a critical role in training Air Traffic Controllers in support of more than 275 separate flight operations across seven missions, directly contributing to safe and efficient airspace management. Further exemplifying his leadership and technical acumen, he managed the Key Management Infrastructure program, enabling secure communications in support of six major west coast operations. He routinely assisted multiple companies during large-scale Continental United States operations, serving as a Certified Defense Inspector and trusted Subject Matter Expert.
ATCA Aviation Systems Specialist Award, Network Enterprise Maintenance Center Atlanta
The NEMC is a part of the FAA’s Technical Operations Directorate, and the team oversees and maintains network operations and systems within aviation environments to ensure safety and efficiency. They are responsible for the Weather Message Switching Center Replacement and National Airspace Data Interchange Network. That network, which is also referred to as NAS Messaging Replacement, and the Message Switch Network receive, process, and distribute domestic and international flight planning, flight movement, weather observation/forecast, notice to Airmen, and search and rescue messages between the National Airspace System, commercial and general aviation users, U.S. government agencies, aviation information service providers, and international civil aviation authorities. These systems are split for redundancy between Salt Lake City, Utah, and Atlanta. There are less than 14 employees between the two locations who monitor and maintain these systems 24/7 365 days a year. There is no doubt that the ATCA community understands the importance of the NOTAM system and all of the other aspects of the systems maintained by the NEMC. To modernize and create even more redundancy and prevent outages, the employees at the Atlanta NEMC upgraded the equipment servers that store and operate these systems. These dedicated professionals spent weeks running new data cables, fiber optics, and installing new servers and software for the new Georgia Enterprise Center (GEC) building located on their campus. This facility was stood up and running while simultaneously keeping the other systems operational. With this facility online now, the NEMC has been fully made redundant, operating on new servers, accomplished by keeping the work in-house, utilizing experienced FAA Tech Ops employees represented by the Professional Aviation Safety Specialists.
The ATCA Industry Award, Leidos
For more than 20 years, Leidos has served as the FAA’s trusted partner for ERAM, providing full lifecycle support including system architecture, systems engineering, software and hardware development, integration and test, deployment, sustainment, maintenance, logistics, and continuous modernization. ERAM’s open architecture and modular design enable rapid implementation of advanced controller tools needed to support the evolving and expanding NAS. ERAM is a highly complex system with an unparalleled track record of high performance, resilience, and availability. Deployed at all 20 Air Route Traffic Control Centers, the William J. Hughes Technical Center, and the Mike Monroney Aeronautical Center, ERAM has nearly doubled controllers’ ability to track aircraft. It has also extended coverage beyond facility boundaries, and increased capacity across the NAS. Seamless transitions from legacy systems were accomplished with zero operational disruption using advanced integration techniques. Innovations such as Leidos-developed Sky Data Sentry enable proactive system monitoring and issue prevention, while Controller-Pilot Data Link Communications have mitigated over 2.2 million read-back errors and saved 8.5 million minutes of communications time—directly improving safety and efficiency. Leidos’ delivery of ERAM has raised the bar for reliability, innovation, and mission-focused industry partnership in air traffic management.
ATCA Chair Award, Don Thoma
Our Chair Award winner is a true pioneer who turned a ‘what if' into a global reality. As the CEO of Aireon, Don Thoma didn't just launch a company; he expanded the horizon of global aviation. While at Iridium, Don conceived the revolutionary idea of a hosted payload that would eventually provide the world’s first space-based ADS-B surveillance service. Since going operational in 2019, Don has led Aireon from a bold startup to a global enterprise serving over 24 Air Navigation Service Providers. Under his leadership, Aireon has moved beyond surveillance into critical commercial data services, tackling everything from real-time turbulence detection to GNSS interference monitoring. But beyond technology, Don is being recognized today for his heart and his service. As a vital member of the ATCA Board and Leadership Council, he has been a tireless advocate for our industry. Don's leadership has been essential in positioning ATCA's Leadership Council as a respected voice in the ongoing transformation of the National Airspace System. He is a leader who balances a culture of relentless innovation with a profound respect for safety-of-life missions. He truly believes in giving back. For his extraordinary career, his disruptive vision, and his unwavering commitment to the people and customers of this industry.