Sky-high Mission

TVA Pilot Peter Kretowski

For many folks, the science of flight is a subject of endless fascination. Even beyond the physics and technology, there’s a sort of childlike wonder about the notion of sharing the air with birds.

For TVA pilot Peter Kretowski, it's a wonder that has never waned.

He remembers being enamored by flight from a young age – and becoming hooked on the concept when he witnessed a dramatic river rescue during a Grand Canyon trip.

“Seeing those choppers land on the river that day was inspiring,” he said. “I started researching. I always thought you had to be in the military or some other large company to fly aircraft. I didn’t realize you could just go to flight school and learn how to fly. Anyone can be a pilot. So that’s what I did.”

During his training, which began in August 2012 in Arizona, Kretowski learned about aeronautical regulations, flight maneuvers, emergency procedures and weather principles. He developed the fine motor skills required for flight and went on to spend more than 2,000 hours instructing other pilots, an experience that profoundly shaped him as an aviator and as a communicator.

“I’m always thinking of the safety of my occupants and the aircraft,” he said. “You fly an aircraft long enough, after a while it feels like a part of who you are – you wear it, like a backpack.”

TVA pilot Peter Kretowski at a TVA Aviation hangar in Chattanooga.

Poise and Precision

Kretowski is highly proficient in the technical aspects of his work, but he’s also passionate about helping newcomers understand the craft. He makes aerodynamics, rotor systems and the myriad of buttons and switches in a helicopter seem less daunting by sharing accessible analogies.

“You know how when you put your hand out the window in a car and you feel that lift?” he explained. “By tilting your hand, you push air downward and create lower pressure above and higher pressure below – and together, this pressure difference plus the downward-deflected airflow produces the same lift an airplane wing generates.”

Before TVA, Kretowski spent seven years flying in Alaska, operating in some of the most rugged terrain in the world. He crossed the largest piedmont glacier on the planet, flew past the largest mountain in North America and, perhaps his most notable memory, met a glacier guide he’d later call his wife.

When he joined the team of pilots at TVA three years ago, he was eager to learn the many ways TVA Aviation helps serve the Valley region.

"When people think of our helicopters, they may think of pulling line, which we do," he said. "But it's so much more. We help in the wildlife space, aid watershed projects and we've even delivered supplies to remote bat caves.”

Three years into his career at TVA, he still carries that first-day excitement, always with the mission of service top of mind.

“If I’ve been off for a while, it’s hard for me to sleep the night before because I’m so excited to get back to work,” he said. “Every flight is a moment of gratitude for me. I can’t believe I work for this agency, operating this equipment.”

Kretowski with the helicopter he piloted in Alaska.

Kretowski piloting a TVA helicopter in Muscle Shoals, Alabama, as the team conducts training.