'Top Gun' pilot lands in L-town
May 5—You may have heard some loud rumbling early Thursday afternoon in the Lewiston-Clarkston Valley.
It wasn't thunder or an explosion.
A Nezperce High School graduate landed a fighter jet at the Lewiston-Nez Perce County Regional Airport, where he was greeted by family and friends, former teachers and students from his alma mater.
Jonathon Riggers, the 29-year-old son of Nathan and Christine Riggers, is a lieutenant in the Navy and "Wings of Gold" aviator. He's based at Naval Air Station Oceana at Virginia Beach, Va., and has been selected to enter "Top Gun" training in a few weeks.
"This is great because we never get to see him fly," said his father, a Nezperce farmer. "You can't get close enough at Virginia Beach. We're just so glad he had the opportunity to do this."
Riggers graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 2016, and pilots fighter jets such as the F/A-18 Super Hornet, which he landed here after taking off from the Naval Air Station in Fallon, Nevada. His jet came to a stop near Frontier Aviation and Jet Center, where his Nezperce fans were waiting.
His parents were there to greet him, along with a dozen kids from Nezperce who had to submit essays to be chosen for the special field trip.
"It's really awesome for us," said his mother, who is a teacher at Nezperce. "He's worked toward this goal a long time, and he's achieved it."
Brennen McLeod, 14, said he was grateful for the experience of seeing a hometown guy land a fighter jet.
"It's fun and exciting," McLeod said. "I want to be a farmer and maybe fly some crop dusters. What I remember about Jonathon is he has a cool mustache. He grew up in Nezperce, so I've seen him around."
Gage Tiegs, 13, plans to become a mechanical engineer, but the excursion offered him a glimpse of other career paths.
"I want to see if I want to become a pilot or join the Air Force," he said. "It's a once-in-a-lifetime experience to be here."
The Nezperce school superintendent, Shawn Tiegs, said it's inspiring for kids to see this kind of success from a boy who grew up in the town of 450 residents.
"I taught Jonathon in chemistry when I first started at Nezperce," Tiegs said. "It is such a neat thing for a small-town kid to make it through the Naval Academy. He is among the elite of the elite, the top of the class. We're all proud of him."
The message to current students is to aim high and go after your dreams, even if you grow up in rural areas, such as north central Idaho or southeastern Washington.
"I think this is a higher achievement than making it to the NFL as a small-town kid," Tiegs said of Riggers. "It's a good message. You can come from a small place like Nezperce and still do some amazing things."
Randy Moser, a retired Nezperce teacher, said he's proud of his former student.
"He knew he wanted to be a pilot in seventh or eighth grade," Moser said. "He's providing a role model for the kids who are still here. I didn't want to miss this opportunity to see him."
Riggers gets to spend two nights at the family homestead before crawling back into the cockpit. On his way to Lewiston, he flew over his hometown.
When asked if he enjoyed the "Top Gun" movies, Riggers smiled.
"That new one was really well done," he said. "It's a lot less cheesy than the first one."
After he completes the program, Riggers plans to become a tactics instructor at Virginia Beach. During his last deployment, he flew in support of U.S. troops as they withdrew from Afghanistan.
Riggers said he loves his job and is happy to be back in Idaho for a couple of nights. His advice to the students was straightforward: Figure out a goal and work hard to make it happen.
"It's an absolute honor to come back here and show all of the members of the community and the high school what I was able to accomplish," he said. "I wouldn't have been to able to do this without the support of the Nezperce community, school district and staff, and of course, my parents."
Sandaine can be reached at kerris@lmtribune.com.
