For what seemed like an eternity, the radar screens went dark and all radio contact was lost to controllers handling air traffic heading in and out Newark Liberty International Airport last week.
Officials are now calling for an investigation. The Federal Aviation Administration is saying little about just what happened.
But those working at the Philadelphia Terminal Radar Approach Control center known as TRACON, which manages air traffic control in the airspace surrounding Newark Liberty, believe it was likely caused by the loss of a critical data signal. The “scary event” has raised new questions about the safety of one of the country’s busiest airports.
“I think everyone was in a panic,” said one controller, who asked not to be identified because they were not authorized to speak publicly. “When the radar and frequencies went out, there wasn’t anything you can see. None of the frequencies worked. It was a helpless feeling.”
Without radar or radio, the controller said others handing the traffic quickly realized they could no longer control “anything that’s in the sky right now.”
The outage played out on an audio recording captured by LiveATC.net, as a United Airlines pilot repeatedly radioed the controllers for clearance to land and was met only by silence.
Another pilot radioed as well. “Approach are you there?” he asked.
Finally, the call was returned. “We lost our radar, so just stay on the arrival and maintain 6,000,” directed one controller.
The problem also grounded all departing flights.
“They’re having some frequency issues and then the radar scopes are out, so they can’t have anyone depart right now,” a controller at the tower at Newark Liberty told one pilot on the audio recording.
The incident came amid mounting flight delays and cancellations that have plagued Newark International Airport for the past several weeks, and likely won’t ease anytime soon.
Equipment outages are by no means unusual in a nationwide air traffic control system that is decades old, outmoded, and dependent on technicians to find quick fixes.
Are such outages dangerous?
“That’s hard to say,” said Michael McCormick — a certified flight controller who is now a professor of Air Traffic Management at Embry‑Riddle Aeronautical University in Florida. “Intermittent outages happen often. They are generally across the air traffic control system.”
But there’s usually a backup system in place.
“That does not appear to have been in place for this system,” he said.
As for the how much concern one should feel about the recent blackout, McCormick remarked, “if I were sitting without a radar for 90 seconds, that’s a long time.”
At issue this time, the Newark controller believed, was that the FAA never provided for a dedicated line to transmit data being fed from a radar facility in New York — where those in Philadelphia controllers used to work — to the Philadelphia TRACON, which they believe increases vulnerability for possible outages.
“Most of us are fearful of this operation,” the controller continued. “We have no faith in our equipment.”
In a worst-case scenario, had the conditions called for instrument flight rules where planes could not see each other, the controller believes it could have had fatal consequences.
In the wake of the incident, several controllers took absence under the Federal Employees Compensation Act, which covers all federal employees that are physically injured or experience a traumatic event on the job, according to a union spokesman.
A new home
Air traffic control of the airspace around Newark Airport was relocated last year from the New York TRACON in Westbury to the Philadelphia Tower at Philadelphia International Airport, under an agreement signed by the FAA and the National Air Traffic Controllers Association.
Officials argued the move had been necessitated because of chronic understaffing in New York.
But the move itself led to more controllers who were unwilling to relocate to leave the FAA.
Meanwhile, the decision by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey to conduct a major runway improvement project this spring, eliminating one of Newark Liberty’s two main runways, further complicated the problems at the airport, greatly reducing its capacity.
Exacerbating the situation is the enormous complexity of the air space around New York, where controllers have to thread traffic around three major airports — Newark, JFK and LaGuardia. Additionally, they have to handle smaller, less busy airports that mostly handle business jets and general aviation aircraft, including Teterboro, Morristown and New York Stewart International Airport.
“Everything in New York TRACON is complicated,” agreed McCormick — who was managing New York Center airspace on 9/11 and has worked in Philadelphia.
He did not think the move to Philadelphia was a mistake, but with the recent equipment problems, suggested “they are probably rethinking that decision.”
He agreed that the way the FAA chose to relay data from New York to the new facility at the airport in Philadelphia was unique.
“Instead of a direct feed from radar and radio, they are fed into New York TRACON and then to Philadelphia. That’s not typically the way it’s done. Normally it’s a direct feed,” he said.
When controllers aren’t looking
Certainly when controllers cannot or aren’t paying attention to what’s going on in the sky, accidents can occur.
In January, a commercial airliner collided in midair over Washington, D.C., with an Army Black Hawk helicopter on a low-altitude training flight as the jet was on final approach for Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, killing all 67 people on both aircraft.
The National Transportation Safety Board, in its preliminary investigation, found multiple factors contributed to the crash — including the fact that only one air traffic controller was managing both the helicopter and plane at the time.
U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy last week announced a new effort last week to get more people into the air traffic controller workforce, including incentives to keep experienced individuals and conduct more hiring.
Jason Ambrosi, president of the Air Line Pilots Association, said the United States has the safest aviation system in the world, in part because of the highly skilled professionals who make it work.
“Airline pilots are highly trained and constantly anticipating any issues, flying the aircraft, attentively observing and communicating with fellow crew members as well as others in the system including air traffic controllers, and sharing experiences for awareness and action,” he said.
Ambrosi said this year, there have “already been many operational challenges that have underscored the urgent need to address outdated technology” as well as critical staffing shortages.
“For pilots who navigate these skies daily, our message is unequivocal: Now is the time for immediate, decisive action with steadfast commitment to safeguard and enhance aviation’s safety and efficiency,” he said.
On Tuesday, Rep. Josh Gottheimer of New Jersey demanded that President Donald Trump‘s administration immediately deploy more air traffic controllers to cover Newark Liberty to help address the severe delays and cancellations. He also urged the administration and Congress to provide emergency funding to upgrade what he called the outdated infrastructure for air traffic control towers and to reduce staffing issues.
“On a good day, air traffic controllers are under immense pressure to do a lot with the little they’re given,” Gottheimer said. “When the slightest error can be deadly, we must work together to help them save lives.”
