Air traffic controllers in Denver lost communications with airplanes for 90 seconds earlier this week and had to fight to use backup frequencies in the Last failure of the Federal Aviation Administration team.
The interruption in a control center that leads to the airplanes that fly to great altitude between the airports throughout the country on Monday afternoon affected the communications, not the radar, the chief of Air Traffic Control of the FAA, said Frank Mcintosh, during an audience of the house on Thursday. This failure of communications continues Two high profile interruptions Radar and communications in the last 2 1/2 weeks in an installation in Philadelphia that directs the airplanes inside and outside the Newark airport, New Jersey.
The FAA said in a statement that the Denver air route traffic control center lost communications for approximately 90 seconds. Mcintosh said that the main and main backup frequencies fell, so the controllers had to resort to an emergency frequency to communicate.
“The controllers used another frequency to transmit instructions to the pilots. The planes remained safely separated and there were no impacts on operations,” said the FAA.
Representative Robert García de California told Mcintosh during the audience that these interruptions are occurring more regularly and that it is increasingly worrisome.
“We know that there are personnel and equipment problems in air traffic control,” Garcia said. “We know that problems have returned in some cases, but it is still an absolutely shocking system failure and we need immediate solutions.”
Last week, the Trump administration announced a multimillionaire plan To review an air traffic control system based on outdated equipment. Air trips are safe even if the air traffic control system is old, but Newark problems were unacceptable and could have been avoided if the system had been updated before, said the Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy in an opinion article on Thursday in Newsweek.
Newark airport has generally led the nation in flight cancellations and delays since the radar was turned off as communications. April 28 And again in May 9. TO Third similar problem It happened on Sunday, but this time the backup system worked and kept radar online.
“Itinerant public safety cannot continue at risk,” said Democratic Representative and Ranking member Rick Larsen, after the audience. “Problems with our system have crossed administrations, but security improvements cannot cover generations. We need action now.”
The FAA and the airlines that fly from Newark met again on Thursday to discuss cutting flights because there are not enough controllers to handle them all. These conversations will continue for the third day on Friday, but the FAA is not likely to issue an immediate decision. More than 140 flights have been canceled on Newark Thursday.
The officials developed the plan to update the air traffic control system after a Mortal air collision In January, between a passenger plane and an army helicopter, he killed 67 people in the heavens on Washington, DC Several other accidents This year he also pressed officials to act.