Airports require complex deconfliction and the close guidance of dedicated air traffic controllers. Many passengers do not give the tower by the runway much thought.
Residents of Poplar Bluff have something else to consider. Archie W. League, considered by the Federal Aviation Administration to be the first air traffic controller, was a Poplar Bluff native.
According to U.S. census records, League was born in the city Aug. 19, 1907.
The National Air Traffic Controller Association recounts League’s fascination with flight from a young age. While still a teenager, he joined a flying circus as a barnstormer, performing aeronautic stunts and flight exhibitions.
League eventually found himself employed at Lambert Field in St. Louis in 1929. Charles Lindbergh, the first pilot to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean, regularly serviced mail routes from the same airport.
League was hired as a flagman. He would direct aircraft with simple red or green flags. With no control tower constructed, he used a simple wheelbarrow to transport his equipment to a central location on the field.
Roger Mola of the U.S. Centennial of Flight Commission wrote League utilized a distinctive beech umbrella to keep cool in the summer and an insulated flight suit for warmth in winter. Regardless of the weather, the Poplar Bluff native remained at his post. League graduated from Washington University after studying aeronautical engineering before joining the Bureau of Air Commerce in 1937. The BAC would later become the FAA.
The NATCA recounts he served as a pilot in World War II and became a prominent manager with the FAA after the war. League worked in the organization until his retirement in 1973.
NATCA also credits him for helping to develop the complex air traffic control system used around the world today and named the Archie League Medal of Safety award in his honor.
While the towers by the runway may escape most people’s attention, natives of Poplar Bluff can look on with recognition and pride.