Floppy discs and copper strips: Newark failures hint at looming threat of another FAA disaster
There have been multiple air traffic control communication and radar malfunctions in recent days, prompting renewed concern about risks in America's skies and on its runways.
The Federal Aviation Administration acknowledged in a series of statements that there was a telecommunications issue Friday at Philadelphia TRACON Area C, the air traffic control tower and radar facility at Philadelphia International Airport that guides aircraft into and out of Newark Liberty International Airport airspace.
Although the issue apparently lasted only 90 seconds, the FAA slowed aircraft in and out of Newark while ensuring that "redundancies were working as designed." The ground stop reportedly lasted around 45 minutes, and, according to the flight tracking site FlightAware, roughly 280 flights were delayed and 87 canceled at Newark as of late Sunday.
'We use floppy discs. We use copper wires.'
A week earlier, the FAA similarly had to slow arrivals and departures on account of "telecommunications and equipment issues at Philadelphia TRACON."
The New York Times reported that air traffic controllers working the airspace around the Newark airport lost communications with planes for nearly 30 seconds. While 10 people reportedly should have been on duty to help coordinate traffic in the Newark airspace at the time, only four controllers were at their posts.
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Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy minced no words following the late April 28 incident, stating, "The system that we're using in air traffic control is incredibly old. This system is 25, 30 years old. We use floppy discs. We use copper wires. The system that we're using is not effective to control the traffic that we have in the airspace today."
Stu Burguiere highlighted some of the technological artifacts the FAA still relies upon to regulate American airspace in his BlazeTV documentary "Countdown to the Next Aviation Disaster."
In addition to copper wires, Burguiere discussed "paper flight strips," which Reason Foundation founder Robert Poole indicated are still used to track planes.
"It comes off a little printer at the controller's workstation," explained Poole.
Blaze News previously reported that the FAA has attempted to update the paper system for over four decades, but the plans remain behind schedule and over budget.
Burguiere also took a look at a November 2023 FAA report that indicated the agency is not only using floppy discs but employing equipment so old that there are no replacement parts available.
"Beacons used to determine the location of aircraft with working transponders," the report reads. "Includes 331 units that are 28-46 years old. Many of these systems are pre-digital, and many parts are unavailable because the manufacturers no longer exist or no longer support these systems."
After characterizing the systems in place as antiquated and faulty, Duffy said, "Of course it's safe," citing the kinds of reactive measures taken in Newark and elsewhere. While confident in the safety of American travel, Duffy appears both intolerant of further delays and unwilling to leave anything to chance.
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Duffy stated that "we must get the best safety technology in the hands of controllers as soon as possible" and indicated that the Trump administration is "working to ensure the current telecommunications equipment is more reliable in the New York area by establishing a more resilient and redundant configuration with the local exchange carriers."
According to the FAA, Duffy and acting FAA Administrator Chris Rocheleau are taking several actions to improve upon existing air traffic control systems, such as adding three high-bandwidth telecommunications connections between the New York-based Standard Terminal Automation Replacement System and the Philadelphia TRACON; replacing copper telecommunications connections with fiber-optic technology from this millennium; and deploying a temporary backup system to the Philadelphia TRACON to provide redundancy during the cable switchover.
'It has to be fixed.'
Burguiere noted in his BlazeTV documentary that the FAA was not just way behind on critical technological upgrades but dangerously understaffed at critical hubs nationwide — stressing that "with 77% of key facilities below the FAA's own staffing threshold" as of December, "our skies are becoming a ticking time bomb."
It appears that Duffy has also taken the dearth of talent at the FAA to heart. The transportation secretary and Rocheleau are apparently committed to increasing controller staffing.
The FAA indicated that the "area in the Philadelphia TRACON that handles Newark traffic has 22 fully certified controllers and 21 controllers and supervisors in training. Ten of those 21 controllers and supervisors are receiving on-the-job training. All 10 are certified on at least one position, and two are certified on multiple positions. We have a healthy pipeline with training classes filled through July 2026."
Blaze News asked the FAA to comment about the nationwide issue of old and aging systems and the perceived problem of understaffing at the FAA and was directed to Duffy's previous statements and May 12 press conference regarding the incident at the Newark airport.
Regarding staffing, the FAA said in a statement obtained by Blaze News, "The FAA and the National Air Traffic Controllers Association (NATCA) collaborate to establish staffing goals for every facility, for every area in the facility, and for each shift. They update the goals yearly, and the goals are based on full staffing in the facility or area. There is a nationwide shortage of air traffic controllers, and the FAA for years has not met the staffing goal for the area that works Newark airspace."
"The persistent low staffing levels and low training success rate at New York Terminal Radar Approach Control (TRACON), or N90, were contributing factors to moving control of the Newark airspace to the Philadelphia TRACON in 2024," added the agency.
The airspace over Newark is far from the only domain experiencing troubles.
WAGA-TV reported that over 600 flights were delayed Monday at the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport on account of what officials termed a "runway equipment issue."
Duffy told NBC News Monday, "I'm concerned about the whole airspace."
"What you see in Newark is going to happen in other places across the country," continued the transportation secretary. "It has to be fixed."
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