Staff Sgt. Steven Henwood said his job as an air traffic controller is intense every day with the 75th Operations Support Squadron at Hill Air Force Base.
But at the beginning of the year, Henwood, a Tooele High School graduate, faced a situation in the tower that ratcheted that intensity to newfound heights.
A small civilian aircraft, a Cessna 172, on Ogden Airport’s radar had deviated from its scheduled flight path into an eastern portion of Hill Air Force Base’s airspace, according to Henwood. An A-10 Thunderbolt from the base was performing low approaches on a flight path that would intersect the Cessna.
Henwood, 25, said he gave the traffic call to the A-10 to keep it at its current altitude and avoid a descent that would have caused a collision. The call from the tower by Henwood averted a mid-air collision, according to the write-up on the aircraft saving award that Henwood received.
The Lt. Gen. Gordon Blake Aircraft Save Award that Henwood received is awarded for actions that save aircraft on the ground or in the sky in extraordinary circumstances, where inaction would have resulted in damage or loss of life, according to Air Force guidelines.
“If I hadn’t done that, it would have been right where he would have descended,” Henwood said, of the potential collision.
The Cessna, a four-seat plane designed as a training aircraft, could have caused a tragic accident if it collided with the A-10, a low-altitude support plane equipped with 30mm cannons and a max speed of more than 500 miles per hour.
Henwood joined the Air Force in 2009 and started a career in air traffic control at the recommendation of his recruiter.
“I was actually talking to my recruiter about it and he said it was a challenging and rewarding career,” Henwood said. “So I put it on my list and ended up getting it, and I’ve loved it ever since.”
Henwood said he enjoys his job because of the responsibility that he faces on a daily basis. He’s been at Hill Air Force base since December 2013 with the 75th Operations Support Squadron, which covers 26 cubic miles of airspace and provides support for two wings of F-16 fighters.
Henwood went through five months of training on the basics of air traffic control, radar and working the tower at Keesler Air Force Base in Mississippi. He was also previously stationed at White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico.