Newark air traffic controllers briefly lose radar for 2nd time in 2 weeks
CBC
Aviation experts say ongoing problems at New Jersey's Newark Liberty International Airport are a sign of an antiquated U.S. system and could become more widespread, but that Canadian airports aren't facing the same systemic issues.
The air traffic controllers directing planes into the airport in Newark, N.J., lost their radar Friday morning for the second time in two weeks.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said the radar at the facility in Philadelphia that directs planes in and out of Newark airport went black for 90 seconds at 3:55 a.m. ET Friday.
That's similar to what happened on April 28, when a radar outage led to hundreds of flights being cancelled or delayed at the Newark airport in the past two weeks after the FAA slowed down traffic at the airport to ensure safety.
Five controllers went on trauma leave after the April 28 outage, worsening the existing shortage.
Aviation consultant Scott Hamilton, managing director of Leeham Company, says the U.S. has an outdated air traffic control system that has never gotten proper funding for technology upgrades and staffing, and Newark's problems could be a sign of things to come for other American airports.
"The system is just antiquated. It's understaffed," he told CBC News.
Hamilton says the problem has gotten worse since the U.S. government laid off 400 FAA workers in February, including technical workers who helped maintain the system.
"This may be a case where things are starting to converge," he said. "For all I know, this could be the beginning of a general system-wide collapse that might migrate from Newark to other patrol centres and other airports."
The number of cancellations of Newark departures jumped from the low 40s to 68 Friday after this latest outage to lead the nation, according to FlightAware.com.
Nearly 400 delays were reported at the airport. Officials said there have been more than 1,700 cancellations and delays at the airport this week.
The FAA said late on Friday it plans to meet with major airlines on Wednesday about potential temporary cuts in flights at Newark Liberty to address recent major disruptions due to equipment and staffing issues.
U.S. Rep. Josh Gottheimer blamed the problems that have plagued Newark on the lack of proper air traffic controller staffing and modern technology.
He said at a news conference Friday that there are currently about 20 controllers working, and that number should be in the 60s. The New Jersey Democrat added that many of the lines connecting controllers to the radar are outdated copper wires, and said the April 28 outage was caused by one of those copper wires getting fried.
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