Felicia Sova – West Area – January 2020

On January 6, 2020, Felicia Sova was a new Certified Professional Controller (CPC) working alone at the LOWLI (90) sector. Allegiant 21, flying from Las Vegas and descending into Cedar Rapids, Iowa declared an emergency and stated that they were losing cabin pressure. As the A319 was descending at 3,000 feet per minute to flight level 240, Felicia promptly called the Ottumwa sector and requested a lower altitude. Ottumwa released 11,000 feet, and without missing a beat Felicia requested an altimeter. Issuing altimeters is an unusual practice for West Area controllers, but Felicia had just practiced doing so the prior week when she underwent annual refresher training, which contained a very similar scenario. Felicia’s aviation background undoubtedly also helped her maintain an awareness of the pilot’s needs as they descended 18,000 feet in 25 miles while losing cabin pressure. Felicia remained calm, ran the emergency checklist, and collected the pilot’s information and requests which helped lead to an uneventful landing at Cedar Rapids. Great job Felicia!