Connor Thoreck was relaxing at home on the evening of January 29 after a busy day as operations manager at Signature Aviation located at Washington’s Ronald Reagan National Airport (DCA).

“My phone started to buzz, and the texts started to come through. I knew something important was happening,” he explained. “I jumped off the couch, called in, and said ‘Hey, I’m coming in.’” It was more than just something.

Shortly before 9 p.m., a Bombardier CRJ700 airliner collided with a U.S. Army Sikorsky Black Hawk helicopter over the Potomac River, killing all 67 people aboard both aircraft in this nation’s deadliest air disaster since the crash of American Airlines Flight 587 in 2001.

Thoreck quickly went into action.

For his actions that evening and his leadership in the challenging days and weeks that followed, he has been honored with the NATA Future Leader Award, “recognizing an individual who has shown outstanding promise, passion, and professionalism within the general aviation community.”