Pilot’s Pilot

AIRLINE CAPTAIN ANDERSON JOHNSON III ’90 has seen it all from the cockpit of his 747. From meteor showers and space shuttle launches, to watching the sun chase down the horizon near the North Pole. These days, Johnson is now focused on what he is carrying in the cargo of his UPS plane—the COVID-19 vaccine.

“It’s really gratifying to know how important these trips are for everyone,” Anderson says. “There is no glory in flying cargo, but it’s awesome to be a part of such a critical piece.”

The biggest change for Johnson’s flights is keeping the vaccines at the proper temperature while also keeping the pilots and crew safe. “There are limits to how much dry ice you can have on board,” Anderson says. And there are procedures to ensure proper ventilation.

Since March, Anderson and the entire UPS cargo fleet have been distributing PPE, masks, and medical devices around the world to help combat the COVID-19 pandemic. “The biggest thing for us, especially through the summer, was getting medical supplies from here to overseas and vice versa,” he says. “You name it, we carried it.”

Growing up in Southern California between two Air Force bases, Anderson and his family would go to Riverside Airport at dusk to watch the planes take off and land. His love of planes continued when he came to UP as a basketball player. His teammates would find him talking to the pilots in the cockpit while traveling for away games.

“When I started college, I knew I wanted to either play in the NBA, become an ESPN sportscaster, or become a Navy pilot,” he says. “I figured that if I could do one of these three dream jobs, I will have become a success.”

After graduating from UP with a communication degree, Anderson served in the Navy for 10 years flying P-3 Orions. He joined the UPS fleet in 2000 and became airline captain in 2005.

“When you do something you love, it doesn’t feel like work.”

—Roya Ghorbani-Elizeh ’11