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 covering the Kansas side as part of KMBZ’s “Double Coverage Airborne Traffic.”
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. As one of the few television helicopter pilots who is also a reporter, Johnny brings a unique perspective to KMBZ’s traffic coverage.
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.
