There was a telecommunications failure that had an impact on communications and radar display in the C zone C of Philadelphia Tracon, which guides planes in and outside the airspace of Newark Liberty International Airport. The breakdown occurred around 3:55 am on Friday May 9 and lasted approximately 90 seconds.
After the first breakdown on April 28, an air traffic controller who had been on duty that day told CNN “… was the most dangerous situation you can have.” CNN reports that after a change made last July, the airport radar and radio communication takes place on a single flow of data from an installation in New York, where the controllers managed Newark flights to Philadelphia.
The FAA has announced a plan to replace the current copper connection with fibers, as well as to add “three new wide -band telecommunications connections between stars based in New York and Philadelphia Tracon”, and more air controllers. Until these modifications and others are made, the agency also said that a new backup system was deployed in Philadelphia, but it is not known when it is available.
NBC News reports that Friday’s failure affected a limited number of sectors, but it is another incident in the series of problems that highlighted the problems with the airport aging control system and the lack of staff.
At 12:30 p.m., Flightaware statistics showed 292 total delays for flights in or outside Newark, which also suffer delays due to the construction of the track.
While announcing the cancellations of flights to Newark after last week’s breakdown, United CEO, Scott Kirby, said that the problems “had been aggravated because more than 20% of FAA controllers for EWR had left the post”, but a Union spokesperson explained that the controllers took absences due to the experience of such a traumatic incident. CNN said that at least five employees had taken 45 days on leave. A FAA declaration said: “Frequent equipment and telecommunications failures can be stressful for controllers. Some controllers from the Philadelphia Tracon who work on arrivals and departures from Newark have taken time to recover from the stress of several recent breakdowns. ”
