Radar and communications systems at Newark Liberty International Airport went dark for the second time in two weeks early Friday morning, marking another failure in the U.S. air traffic control network just one day after the Department of Transportation announced sweeping modernization plans. The outage, which occurred at 3:55 a.m. and lasted approximately 90 seconds, affected both arriving and departing aircraft, the Federal Aviation Administration confirmed.
"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," the FAA said in a statement.
During the incident, a FedEx flight bound for Boston was handed off to a different frequency after a controller said, "Our scopes just went black again. If you care about this, contact your airline and try to get some pressure for them to fix this stuff," according to audio captured by LiveATC.net. The pilot responded, "Sorry to hear about that, FedEx 1989. I'm switching, good luck guys."
Controllers directed another arriving aircraft to remain above 3,000 feet in case further communication was lost. As of midday Friday, Newark reported 292 delays and 121 cancellations, according to FlightAware.
The latest failure echoes a similar April 28 incident in which radar and communications were lost for nearly two minutes. That outage resulted in more than 1,000 canceled and delayed flights and prompted at least five air traffic controllers to take 45 days of trauma leave. Staffing shortages at the Philadelphia TRACON facility have worsened since then, forcing FAA planners to limit flight volumes in and out of Newark for nearly the entire day Friday due to "staffing constraints."
Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy acknowledged widespread instability in the national air traffic control infrastructure during an interview Thursday. "What we're seeing through the system is, you know, hundreds of times a week, blips in connectivity," Duffy told CNN. "Which is a sign that you're seeing issues with your telecom."
On Thursday, the DOT unveiled a long-anticipated plan to modernize the air traffic control system. The overhaul includes replacing 618 aging radars, building six new regional air traffic control centers, upgrading towers, and introducing advanced fiber, wireless, and satellite communications to replace outdated telecommunications systems.
