Early Friday morning, radar screens at Newark Liberty International Airport went dark for about 90 seconds, raising significant air traffic safety concerns at the busy New Jersey hub. This incident occurred shortly before 4 a.m. EDT and impacted a limited number of sectors, according to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). Despite the brief duration, the blackout is alarming, especially considering recent issues where controllers lost radio communication with pilots approaching the airport.
The FAA traced the problem to a telecommunications outage affecting the Terminal Radar Approach Control (TRACON) network based in Philadelphia, which is responsible for managing aircraft movements in Newark’s airspace. The outage began around 3:55 a.m. and was resolved quickly, but it highlights ongoing vulnerabilities in air traffic safety at one of the nation’s major airports. Federal authorities noted the importance of addressing these technical challenges to ensure continuous and safe operations for air traffic control.
This incident adds to rising concerns from pilots, airline officials, and safety advocates regarding the reliability of air traffic control systems, particularly in the wake of previous communication losses. The FAA’s swift acknowledgment of the issue underscores the potential risks faced in managing high-volume airport operations and the critical need for reform in communication and radar technology to safeguard against future disruptions.
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