St. Louis Radio: End Of Era As Airborne Traffic Is Grounded

The era of two St. Louis radio stations providing Airborne traffic updates from the sky end.

For years, stations KTRS 550 AM and KMOX 1120 AM flew together above busy roads during the morning and evening rushes.

Friday's drive home was the last time that Tim Wilund from KTRS and Rodger Brand from KMOX will report from above, a change attributed to the high cost of flying, and availability of technology on the ground that allows traffic reporting to be done more efficiently.

"Because of technology, you don't need to do traffic from the air anymore," McGraw Milhaven, programming director and morning host at KTRS told stltoday.com.

That technology includes access to Missouri Department of Transportation cameras and road sensors.

Congrats to Tim Wilund, Tori Lyons @rbrandtraffic on their final AIRBORNE Radio traffic report. #stltraffic pic.twitter.com/rf5RM2MbMS

— Frank Ladd (@FrankLaddSTL) March 31, 2017

He said the two traffic reporters have flown in a small Cessna airplane for the last seven years, and not a helicopter although many still referred to it as such.