April 30, 2022
By: Dwayne Page
Katelyn Sanders’ career is soaring!
One year after being named manager of the Smithville Municipal Airport, Sanders has settled into the job she has grown to love, and her work there has not gone unnoticed.
In fact, city leaders have been so impressed with her that they are considering making her part-time position full time. That’s good news for Sanders who is about to graduate with a bachelor’s degree in Aviation Management with a minor in Business Administration from MTSU.
Sanders could also be considered a trailblazer. At age 23, Sanders is not only the first female and youngest airport manager in Smithville, but she is believed to be currently the youngest airport operator in the nation as well.
Although Sanders has always loved travel and flying, aviation was not her planned career path. She began her college years practicing medicine as a Pre-Med major at Chattanooga State Community College where she earned an associate degree in Nutrition. It was only after she enrolled at MTSU, one of the top aviation schools in the country, that her passion for flying was renewed. It was also at MTSU that she learned of the job opening in Smithville.
“My whole life and in my first years of college I wanted to be in the medical field. I thought that is what I wanted to do and when I started working in the medical field, I became a pharmacy technician and was a Pre-Med major and I hated it. I love medicine and the science behind medicine but insurance issues and the blame that’s put on a lot of healthcare workers for things we can’t control were concerns for me so after I got my associate degree in Chattanooga I came back home and started at MTSU but at that time I didn’t really know what I wanted to do. I discovered that MTSU is actually one of the top five colleges in the country for aviation. I think its number three for pilots, management, air traffic controllers, and drones, etc. When I started there, I saw planes everywhere. People were going flying, going to airports, and I found that really fascinating so I started out in their piloting program but then COVID hit, and everything was put on pause. Because of the long wait due to the pandemic, I decided to take another direction and went into aviation management and found that really interesting as well,” Sanders continued.
“One day we got an email letting us know that Smithville was looking for an airport manager, so I decided to respond even though I thought to myself I am not going to get this job because of my age and my lack of qualifications because I was still in school and had no experience, but I got the chance. I was fortunate to meet with the previous airport manager Mike Carpenter and members of the city’s airport advisory board, Roth Terrell, Shawn Jacobs, and John Daniel. They were all so kind and took a chance on me and I am glad they did. I really appreciate them and the mayor and aldermen for giving me this opportunity,” said Sanders.
While she currently commutes between her home in Mount Juliet to work in Smithville, Sanders said she doesn’t mind it because she loves her job, this town, and the people here. Sanders said although it is small, the Smithville Airport has much to offer.
“One thing that Smithville prides itself in as that we try to have the cheapest fuel in the area. That has worked really well in our favor. We also have 18 residential hangars right now as well as our big Landergood Aviation maintenance hangar where Lee Bridges and his crew do plane maintenance. I am super thankful for them and their help to me. They do amazing work on aircraft there,” said Sanders.
As for future airport plans, Sanders said the city has a few projects on the table. “We have had a few city meetings about it. We are working on buying property around the airport. We’re doing this big land acquisition and obstruction project. We want to extend our minimums where pilots can land at night time on our runway and for the safety of the residents at the end of our runway we need to make sure we have enough space above their houses for planes to land as well so right now we are working on basically buying the airspace around the airport and property close to the airport and then after that one big project we really want to do is build some more hangars. We would love to bring in more people to the airport. It’s a big commodity right now to have a hangar and we have a waiting list for them with 20-25 people on it. Our biggest revenue sources are from fuel sales and hangar rent and our hangars can be rented monthly, yearly, or every five years,” said Sanders.
Aside from her studies and job, Sanders keeps busy even in her spare time. “On the side, I go to Class Bravo at the Lebanon Airport and fly planes a few mornings a week. I have met many amazing people in this industry and have begun flight training, gaining hours towards my Private Pilot’s License. I have spent multiple years in the Women in Aviation Air Raiders Chapter as a member and Secretary and I am also the marketing coordinator for the MTSU Tennessee Aviation Professionals Society. Anything involving planes and aviation I am all about it,” added Sanders.