Latest news with #radaroutage
Yahoo
09-05-2025
- Yahoo
Air traffic control systems for Newark Airport fail again as concerns over safety mount
Radar and telecommunications systems for Newark Airport's air traffic controllers failed Friday morning — the second time the two critical systems went down at the same time in less than two weeks — as delays at the critical hub continue to vex travelers. According to a statement issued by the Federal Aviation Administration, both the radar display and some portion of the communication systems that allow controllers to reach pilots and local airport control towers failed for 'approximately 90 seconds' around 3:55 a.m. The outage affected systems at the Philadelphia facility known as 'Philadelphia TRACON' — an acronym for Terminal Radar Approach Control — specifically those used by controllers responsible for guiding planes into and out of airports in northern New Jersey. It was unclear Friday evening to what degree ground-to-plane communications were affected. But during the radar outage, air traffic controllers could be heard telling a FedEx plane that their screens had gone dark, ABC News reported. In another transmission, a controller informed the crew of a private jet about the radar outage and instructed the pilot to remain at or above 3,000 feet in case the controllers were unable to make contact during the aircraft's descent, ABC said. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y. — who has called on the DOT's inspector general to look into New York and Philly TRACON's short staffing and infrastructural issues — expressed his skepticism. 'This is an air travel safety emergency that requires immediate and decisive action, not a promise of a big, beautiful unfunded overhaul that will take years to begin to implement,' he said in a statement. 'Enough is enough. The connection between New York air space and the Philadelphia air traffic control center must be fixed now,' he added. 'The skies over New York City are some of the busiest in the world. 'This cannot happen again.' The meltdown came on the heels of an April 28 outage at Philly TRACON, in which radar coverage of North Jersey airspace and telecommunications lines between controllers and local airport towers failed. That outage effectively shut down one of the nation's busiest airports for approximately two hours, and led to days of cancellations, delays and headaches for travelers. As previously reported by the Daily News, radar feeds for the North Jersey airspace go to New York TRACON on Long Island — which managed the airspace above Newark until last summer. Currently, the feeds are then relayed from Long Island down to Philly, a setup that leads to frequent latency and outage issues. Following the April 28 outage, five of the 25 air traffic controllers certified to manage the airspace over North Jersey took 45-day trauma leave, according to a spokesman for the National Air Traffic Controllers Association. That 20% reduction in staffing caused its own set of delays at Newark, which have continued for nearly two weeks. The delays and cancellations at Newark continued on Friday, exacerbated by maintenance work and poor weather. The FAA issued a seemingly unrelated 'ground stop' late Friday morning due to taxiway construction, which lasted roughly an hour. By 5 p.m., 140 flights had been canceled at Newark Liberty, and more than 400 had been delayed, according to data from the flight-tracking website FlightAware. The miserable travel conditions in the nation's busiest airspace — where more than 100 planes a day have been canceled for nearly two weeks — has put a spotlight on chronic understaffing of the nation's air traffic control systems as well as the aging infrastructure upon which they rely. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy announced Thursday that his department would be working 'to build a brand new, state-of-the-art air traffic control system that will be the envy of the world.' Those efforts are supposed to include a total overhaul of the telecommunications system, the replacement of 618 radar facilities, and hardware and software upgrades at TRACON and air traffic control center facilities nationwide. Late Friday, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt acknowledged the 'glitch in the system' at Newark, but said it had nothing to do with the delays. 'That glitch was caused by the same telecoms and software issues that were raised last week,' she said. 'Everything went back online after the brief outage, and there was no operational impact.'
CBC
09-05-2025
- Politics
- CBC
Newark air traffic controllers briefly lose radar for 2nd time in 2 weeks
Social Sharing 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 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. That first 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 also went on trauma leave after that outage, worsening the existing shortage. It's not clear if any additional controllers will go on leave now. The number of cancellations of Newark departures jumped from the low 40s to 57 after this latest outage to lead the country, according to Newark ranks second in the number of cancelled arrivals with 60, but that number also increased Friday morning. Nearly 300 delays were reported at the airport. Officials said there have been more than 1,700 cancellations and delays at the airport this week. WATCH | Union confirms previous loss of contact with planes: Newark air traffic controllers lost contact with planes, union confirms 3 days ago Duration 1:43 White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a briefing Friday morning that the "glitch this morning at Newark" was caused by the same issues as last week, but it didn't disrupt flights. "Everything went back online after the brief outage, and there was no operational impact," Leavitt said. 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. And many of the lines connecting controllers to the radar are outdated copper wires. The New Jersey Democrat said the April 28 outage was caused by one of those copper wires getting fried. "Our region is a key economic artery for our country. Yet this region ... one of the busiest air spaces in the world, as I mentioned, is running off a tower that's full of copper wire dating back to the 1980s with outdated and inefficient technology. And the region is short — and this is a big deal — the region is short about 40 air traffic controllers," Gottheimer said. He said the tower was built back in "the Brady Bunch era" in 1973. The FAA said earlier this week that it is installing new fibre optic data lines to carry the radar signal between its facilities in Philadelphia and New York. Officials said some of the lines connecting those two facilities are outdated copper wire that will be replaced. But it's not clear how quickly those repairs can be completed. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy announced a multibillion-dollar plan Thursday to replace the country's aging air traffic control system to prevent problems like this from happening and give controllers modern technology. That plan includes installing 4,600 new high-speed connections and replacing 618 radars across the country. Officials developed the plan to upgrade the system after a deadly midair collision in January between a passenger jet and an army helicopter killed 67 people in the skies over Washington, D.C. Several other crashes this year also put pressure on officials to act. But the shortcomings of the air traffic control system have been known for decades. The National Transportation Safety Board has not determined that a problem with the air traffic control system caused that crash near Reagan National Airport.
Travel Weekly
09-05-2025
- General
- Travel Weekly
Air traffic controllers briefly lose radar access again at Newark Airport
The air traffic controllers directing planes into Newark Airport lost their radar Friday morning for the second time in two weeks. The FAA said radar at the facility in Philadelphia that directs planes in and out of Newark went black for 90 seconds at 3:55 a.m. Friday. That's similar to what happened on April 28. That first radar outage led to hundreds of flights being canceled or delayed at 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 that outage, worsening the existing shortage. It's not clear if any additional controllers will go on leave now. The number of Newark cancellations jumped from the low 40s to 57 after this latest outage, according to Nearly 300 delays were reported at the airport. Officials said there have been more than 1,700 cancellations and delays at the airport this week. New Jersey Rep. Josh Gottheimer blamed the problems that have plagued Newark on insufficient air traffic controller staffing and old technology. He said at a news conference Friday that there are currently 22 controllers working, and that number should be in the 60s. And many of the lines connecting controllers to the radar are outdated copper wires. He said the April 28 outage was caused by one of those copper wires getting fried. "Our region is a key economic artery for our country. Yet this region... one of the busiest air spaces in the world, as I mentioned, is running off a tower that's full of copper wire dating back to the 1980s with outdated and inefficient technology. And the region is short -- and this is a big deal -- about 40 air traffic controllers," Gottheimer said. He said the tower was built back in "the Brady Bunch era" in 1973. The FAA said earlier this week that it is installing new fiber-optic data lines to carry the radar signal between its facilities in Philadelphia and New York. Officials said some of the lines connecting those two facilities are outdated copper wire that will be replaced. But it's not clear how quickly those repairs can be completed. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy announced a multibillion-dollar plan Thursday to replace the nation's aging air traffic control system to prevent problems like this from happening and to give controllers modern technology. That plan includes installing 4,600 high-speed connections and replacing 618 radars across the country. Officials developed the plan to upgrade the system after a deadly midair collision in January between a passenger jet and an Army helicopter killed 67 people in the skies over Washington, D.C. Several other crashes this year also put pressure on officials to act. The National Transportation Safety Board has not determined that a problem with the air traffic control system caused that crash near Reagan National Airport.
Fast Company
09-05-2025
- Fast Company
Air traffic controllers lost radar at Newark (again)—here's why it keeps happening
Planes at New Jersey's Newark Liberty International Airport were briefly left flying blind overnight as the airport experienced another radar outage – the second incident in less than two weeks. The most recent radar outage, first reported by ABC news, occurred just before 4 a.m. Eastern Time on Friday and lasted for a minute and a half. 'There was a telecommunications outage that impacted communications and radar display at Philadelphia TRACON Area C, which guides aircraft in and out of Newark Liberty International Airport airspace,' an Federal Aviation Administration spokesperson confirmed in a statement provided to Fast Company. Why New York area planes are getting their orders from Philadelphia A Terminal Radar Approach Control, or TRACON, is a facility that oversees arrivals and departures within a given airspace. Those facilities provide a critical link between traffic controllers based in airport towers who coordinate takeoffs and landings and the multi-state area control centers that guide planes once they reach cruising altitudes. In the case of Newark Airport, that vital link in the chain of communication is newly operating out of Pennsylvania. The FAA relocated part of Newark airport's air traffic control operations to Philadelphia last year in an effort to add additional controllers and to reduce delays in one world's busiest and most complex airspaces. But the move to Philadelphia appears to have caused more problems than it has solved, with short but potentially catastrophic outages sowing chaos for Newark's air traffic controllers. The most recent radar outage is not an isolated incident Friday's radar and communications outage at Newark Airport is just the latest in a string of recent safety lapses keeping frequent fliers up at night. A Newark air traffic controller told NBC News that radio contact has gone dark 'at least eight or nine times' at the facility in the last few months. On April 28, Philadelphia's TRACON Area C lost all contact with planes flying into Newark Airport for at least 30 seconds when communications and radar screens went offline. After the incident, a number of Newark air traffic controllers working that day took mental health leave due to the acute anxiety they experienced, worsening existing staffing shortages and snarling the airport in more than 1,000 cancellations and delays. In January, an American Airlines passenger plane collided midair with a U.S. Army helicopter near Reagan National Airport, killing everyone on board both aircraft. The tragedy prompted an intense public outcry over air travel safety in the U.S., which is plagued by outdated technology and hiring woes. The Department of Transportation has a plan – but needs the cash Prior to Friday's outage, the FAA said that it planned 'immediate steps' to improve the situation at Newark, with plans to staff up air traffic control and fast track technology and logistics updates. Prior to the Trump administration, the Biden administration offered its own incremental updates to U.S. air travel, including millions for smaller airports to modernize their air traffic control towers. On Thursday, the FAA highlighted plans to update infrastructure including radar, software and telecommunications systems. According to the detailed proposal by the Department of Transportation, 'legacy radios, some over 30 years old, rely on outdated analog technology, leading to frequent outages, high maintenance costs due to scarce parts, and incompatibility with modern digital standards like VoIP.' The three-year proposal would modernize existing technology, including an updated digital radio system that would make regular communications blackouts a thing of the past. The proposed upgrades would also add six new air traffic control centers. The Trump administration would need Congress to fund such a massive overhaul to America's air traffic control systems. Trump has enthusiastically steered around Congress on most issues so far, but for a huge infrastructure project that wouldn't be possible. Concerns over American air travel could be one area of rare bipartisan overlap during Trump's second term. The proposal is expected to cost tens of billions of dollars, though $12.5 billion has already bubbled up in a House appropriations bill. 'We use radar from the 1970s,' U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said on Thursday. 'This technology is 50 years old that our controllers use to scan the skies and keep airplanes separated from one another.'
Globe and Mail
09-05-2025
- General
- Globe and Mail
Air traffic controllers briefly lose radar access again at Newark airport
The air traffic controllers directing planes into the Newark, New Jersey, airport lost their radar Friday morning for the second time in two weeks. The Federal Aviation Administration 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. Friday. That's similar to what happened on April 28. That first radar outage led to hundreds of flights being canceled or delayed at the Newark airport in the past two weeks after the FAA slowed down traffic at the airport to ensure safety. Several controllers also went on trauma leave after that outage, worsening the existing shortage. It's not clear if any additional controllers will go on leave now. The number of cancellations of Newark departures jumped from the low 40s to 57 after this latest outage to lead the nation, according to Newark ranks second in the number of cancelled arrivals with 60, but that number also increased Friday morning. Nearly 300 delays were reported at the airport. The FAA said earlier this week that it is installing new fiber optic data lines to carry the radar signal between its facilities in Philadelphia and New York. Officials said some of the lines connecting those two facilities are outdated copper wire. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy announced a multi-billion-dollar plan Thursday to replace the nation's aging air traffic control system to prevent problems like this from happening and give controllers modern technology. Officials developed the plan to upgrade the system after a deadly midair collision in January between a passenger jet and an Army helicopter killed 67 people in the skies over Washington, D.C. Several other crashes this year also put pressure on officials to act. But the shortcomings of the air traffic control system have been known for decades. The National Transportation Safety Board has not determined that a problem with the air traffic control system caused that crash near Reagan National Airport.
