CLEVELAND, Miss. — The first ten students from the Commercial Aviation Department at Delta State University to graduate with an Agricultural Aviation Operations Career Pathway Certification will be recognized during a ceremony June 2 at 1:00 p.m. in the DSU airport hangar, 1001 Airport Road, in Cleveland. Mississippi Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith will be the keynote speaker. All media are welcome to attend.
The Agricultural Aviation Operations Career Pathway Certification attests to a student successfully completing hazmat training, FAA instrument flight certification, FAA commercial certification, tailwheel endorsement and a minimum of 100 hours, 25 hours of which consisting of light bar training in a Citibria, 25 hours of light bar aerial application in an AG Wagon (C-188) and ten-hour type-rating and aerial application in an Air Tractor 802.
Bradly MacNealy, Director of Flight Operations for the Commercial Aviation Department said, “There is a huge shortage of ag pilots in the U.S. To solve this problem, Delta State University and AG Partners have established a premier AG Flight Training Program. Cleveland, MS is now the one stop shop for agriculture-related flight instruction and certification.”
Students receiving certification are:
- Harden Belvedresi, Clarksdale
- Mark Bryant, Raymond
- Jacob Habig, Grenada
- Rob Heflin, Isola
- Billy James, Charleston
- Connor Lang, Inverness
- Paxton McKnight, Cleveland
- Ben Malloy, Shelby
- Dustin Roncali, Inverness
- Logan Showah, Indianola
