Newark air traffic controllers lose contact with planes amid system failure

Air traffic controllers at Newark Liberty International Airport briefly lost communications with planes under their control, leaving them "unable to see, hear, or talk to them" last week, according to BBC reporting which highlighted the incident that caused multiple employees to go on trauma leave and contributed to hundreds of delayed flights.

The Monday,  April 28 system breakdown led to over 150 flights being cancelled, as confirmed by tracking website FlightAware. US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy explained to Fox News that contact with air traffic was lost for "30 seconds" when "the primary communication line went down, the backup line didn't fire," though he emphasized this didn't mean planes were at risk of crashing. This serious disruption comes as the airport, one of New York and New Jersey's busiest hubs, has been struggling with staff shortages for more than a week, with the FAA acknowledging in their statement that "our antiquated air traffic control system is affecting our workforce."

The outage lasted anywhere from 30 seconds to 90 seconds, according to NPR, with even 30 seconds being an "alarming" amount of time for air traffic communications to be interrupted, said Hassan Shahidi, CEO of the Flight Safety Foundation. NPR's investigation revealed that several air traffic controllers took time off to deal with the stress and trauma of the experience, information confirmed by both their union and the FAA. The incident occurred when controllers stationed at the Philadelphia Terminal Radar Approach Control, which is responsible for sequencing planes in and out of Newark, lost all radar and communications capabilities.

This outage wasn't isolated, as the FAA told NPR there were "multiple recent" equipment and telecommunications outages. Staffing issues have compounded the problem. United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby stated in December that the FAA was about 3,000 air traffic controllers short nationwide, which would lead to delays across the country.

The technological interruption cascaded into a weeklong meltdown at Newark, reported CNN, resulting in delays and cancellations affecting thousands of customers. CNN's analysis of air traffic control conversations recorded by LiveATC.net revealed the tense moments when United Airlines Flight 1951 tried to radio the controller five times before finally getting a response. According to CNN's source, the outage impacted information coming from radars at an FAA facility in Westbury, New York, with the failure stemming from copper wiring that transmits information to Newark approach control.

Air traffic analysis from Flightradar24 indicated that about 15 to 20 flights were being controlled when communications and radar failed. No crashes occurred, but at least five FAA employees took 45 days of trauma leave afterward. Aviation analyst Miles O'Brien told CNN that controllers performed "quiet heroic acts, in spite of a system that is built to set them up for failure," highlighting the extraordinary pressure on air traffic personnel.