When Jim Kmetz said to go past the mall, over U.S. 41 and east of the McDonald's, he wasn't giving directions to his house. He was guiding the pilot of a Cessna 182 to safety.

Kmetz, an air traffic controller and 1976 Lake Central High School graduate, will be honored by the National Air Traffic Controllers Association tonight with an Archie League Medal of Safety Award.

The award was the result of a Dec. 15 incident in which a pilot radioed for help into the Hulman Regional Airport Tower in Terre Haute. Ice formed on his plane and weighed it down. Visibility was poor, and the pilot wanted clearance to drop lower.

The ice was blocking communication, so Kmetz picked up the pilot on a backup radio. The pilot dropped much lower than Kmetz cleared him, and Kmetz was worried he'd clip an antenna - or worse. A mall, hospital and busy intersections all were in his path.

"I don't think this guy realized at all how much trouble he could've been in," Kmetz said. "I was really frightened he was going to crash and die. I worried more for the pilot than he did for himself."

The pilot spotted a racetrack. Kmetz's familiarity with the racetrack let him give the pilot directions, guiding him to the runway. When dealing with disoriented pilots, it's important to give them something visual to grasp.

The pilot and his wife landed uninjured, but the plane was banged up, Kmetz said.

Reports after the incident say the plane had about 75 pounds of ice on it. Several people who contributed to the report commended Kmetz for helping land the plane safely.

But Kmetz said it's just part of his job.

"It's all in a day's work for an air traffic controller," he said.

Kmetz, an Indiana State University graduate, has been an air traffic controller for 23 years.

"I never encountered anything like this before," he said.

Kmetz's sister, Debbie Pilackas of St. John, said she's proud of her brother's work and the award.

"We think it's a wonderful thing," she said.