Veteran helicopter pilot and traffic reporter Johnny Rowlands is the Chief pilot of KMBC's NewsChopper 9. Johnny's traffic reports can be heard every weekday on "FirstNews" between 5 a.m. and 7 a.m., and on "KMBC 9 FirstNews" weekdays from 7 a.m. to 9 a.m. on KCWE. You'll also find him covering breaking news in the 5 p.m. and 6 p.m. news on Channel 9.

Johnny was a radio disc jockey in the mid-1970s, and started his television career on Channel 9 in the late '70s as a cohost of the Muscular Dystrophy Telethon. He was a member of the original "FirstNews" team in the late '80s as Kansas City's first television airborne traffic reporter, piloting his Cessna over the Kansas City morning rush hour. In 2003, he took over the controls of NewsChopper 9, and since that time has been providing up to the minute traffic information getting commuters around traffic trouble spots and drive-time delays.

As one of the few television helicopter pilots who is also an on-camera reporter, Johnny brings a unique perspective to Channel 9's news coverage, and he's captured spectacular video of some of Kansas City's biggest stories. His airborne video of the house that exploded on the South side during a police shootout was broadcast by news outlets around the world, and a still frame was included in a Readers Digest story detailing the incident.

Not only does Johnny cover breaking news stories, but he has also aided law enforcement and firefighters in various emergencies. Most notably, he guided Merriam, Kan., firefighters to two teenagers trapped on the roof of a burning apartment building, and he assisted police officers in the rescue of an elderly couple trapped in their home from the rising waters of Lake Annette in Cass County.

But perhaps Johnny's most compelling coverage is when severe weather strikes, and that's where you'll find him in the air tracking storms as they approach the Kansas City metro. As an avid weather enthusiast, Johnny has pioneered cutting edge tracking of supercells and tornadoes from NewsChopper 9. His award winning video and live "play by play" of the May 4, 2003, tornado that ravaged Wyandotte County, Gladstone and Liberty, gave Channel 9 viewers unprecedented advance warning, and he was credited by meteorologists and emergency personnel for saving countless lives. Less than a week later, his repeat performance and 30-minute warning again played a part in helping people avoid injury from a tornado that struck Lawrence, Kan., on May 8, 2003.

Among other tornadoes he has tracked, on May 29, 2004, Johnny caught up with a supercell near Dearborn, Mo, and for the first time in history he videotaped the entire life cycle of a tornado, all the way from the initial wall cloud to the "roping out" as the tornado dissipated. His coverage also represented another first: The National Weather Service issued tornado warnings for the Dearborn area based upon the live video Johnny was sending back to Channel 9 as part of the stations' storm coverage.

It's not all traffic, news and weather coverage, though. Each spring Johnny takes the show on the road and lands NewsChopper 9 at dozens of elementary schools, showing hightlights of his tornado coverage and giving safety tips on how to survive a tornado. In the past three years, Johnny has delivered his safety message to nearly 30,000 school children in the greater Channel 9 viewing area.

Johnny has a degree in communications with a minor in journalism, and for a short time was an instructor in the broadcasting department at his alma mater, Baker University. He has a son, Blake, who is a recent graduate from the Central Missouri State University Aviation Department, and is a licensed pilot and flight instructor in pursuit of an airline career. Johnny's hobbies include scuba diving, cycling, and of course, flying. He has a partnership in a Beechcraft Bonanza that he uses for weekend trips to various Midwest getaways, and he has also twice flown his plane to the Bahamas for vacation.

Send E-Mail To Johnny Rowlands