likeeolou , znqnie I intso ~'air traffic corîtrollers from being able to com- municate with pilots, but it could bave, had a ~real emergency ever occurred, -Needless to say a solution was needed - Sand quickly. Lyle's research over nearly seven mnonths Sconfirmed a link between the databursts and speclfic jets with certain avionics suites that Iare commonly used on North American re- giorial routes. He prepared a comprehensive report, seek, ing corrective action from lequipment sup- 5p isers. With lndustry Canadas help, his report was sent to the Federal Aviation Administration in the U.S. E AS an onIy child and admittedly »spoiled, q Lyle said be grew up fascinated by «électron- c: 2 ics anid ail things wîth push-buttons and SE OURhin ONighîs7TI and efforts horîoured wtth Spedialist of the Year a That fascination, togethef with years off en- the-,ob eicperience, was how he pieced ici- gether the problern. Lyle said he worked continuous1y researching the interference and spent a great deal of time on it at horne, long ahter work was done for the day. A»d presnt hl WMW41Mu For his work on that issue, the lîfe-long Mil- tonian was awarded the Washington D.C.- based Air Traffic Controi Associations Airway Transportation Systetws Speciaist off the Vear Award for performing as a technician acting in a non-supervisory capacity who bas, dur- ing the previous year, performed in an exem- plary manner in support off air traffic contri. Award presenters at an October confer- ence near Washington D.C. commented 'hs relentiess efforts to find the source off the problem and share his cnîîical research with industry partners ta mitigate a major opera- tional risk, refiect an outstanding commit- ment to safety- Lyle was one of four NAV Canada emplcyees who won awards for their contribution ta the air traffic control system. As the country's air navigation services pro- vider, NAV Canada, which is a primae sector company, annually manages 12 million air- craft movements a year. Rt% the second largest such navigational firm in the world based on traffic volume- For Lyle, it's a dream job and bas been since 1982, when Fie first began bis career there. Itfs not surprising that the self-described edec- tronlcs junkie fuist çnarted working as a teen- ager at what was then catled Radio £back ait Milton Mal. He said Fie was strottîrq throuqb the mail when he spotted the etectronics store. -1 went in and asked 'who do 1 talk ta. to gel a job?- he said. Days later b. was hured. The Milton District High School graduate quickly became the assistant manager, co<nptete with keys to the store at only 16 years old. eMy parents were beaming at thie time* he laughed. -rhey often commurented thati 1caMVt make mny own bcd. but 1 can run a store. 've always had personai intest and hobbies that were rado-elated sud tyle, wbo stil re- sides in the family bomne that bis pafents llved in when they wiere aive, and iweïe b. fa was bom. 'My fascination wfth pushinq bt-t tons... .i'm surrounded by them here (at wodu in Toronto). Pade uhe bMi Y'm in beaven and always wiJi b.. lim gettin paid to work my hobby. By no means a paper-pusher typ person, Lyle, who studied etectrnici engineering technoiogy at Sheridan College, said Ns Po- sition is very technical and hels fi.4dln caft practicaWl non-stop ewM day «NAV Canada ahways, plame safu<y ki' lie s"d 'W. ame always nwstiAtin anid vmk- ing to keep tbîrgs sak!~ Zyle and bis felow award winne« comt ment garnered the attention of f V Canada% president John Chrichton as weil. He had Ibis to say 'Ve ame pleased that theki dedication and excellience bas beeri dul hg9n- oured by the premier imtenaioadsoa lion for air tiafic czntrolV Jk#h Sbock con be readh.d at il rntoo-Li nodkvnchampo.com Or on T~~fo @*Wm- Aêak.