air traffic control

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FAA: Denver Air Traffic Control Went Down for 90 Seconds

No incidents were reported during the outage, officials say

(Newser) - The latest disturbing air traffic control incident in the US happened in Denver this week. The Federal Aviation Administration revealed Thursday that on Monday afternoon, air traffic control in the area went dark for 90 seconds due to an equipment failure, the Denver Post reports. During this time, pilots lost...

Pentagon Hotline With DC Tower Hasn't Worked in 3 Years

Revelation comes after deadly crash and a near miss

(Newser) - Ronald Reagan National Airport has seen a deadly crash between an Army helicopter and a passenger plane, as well as a near miss , since the start of the year. While investigations into both continue, a Senate hearing this week revealed a surprising fact: A hotline between the Pentagon and...

Newark Airport's Problems Just Deepened: 'Pure Insanity'

FAA says just 3 traffic controllers guided planes at airport on Monday, instead of the preferred 14

(Newser) - In addition to the "incredibly old" air traffic control setup that's plaguing Newark Liberty International Airport, leading to frightening recent outages of the radar system used there, the New Jersey travel hub is also suffering from an air traffic controller shortage that's causing concern. The Federal Aviation...

Duffy Lists Plans for Newark, Controller Shortage
Duffy to Cut Back
Newark Flights
May 11, 2025 10:01 AM CDT

Duffy to Cut Back Newark Flights

Transportation secretary details plan to increase number of air traffic controllers

(Newser) - Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy plans to reduce the number of flights in and out of the Newark for the "next several weeks," as New Jersey's largest airport struggles with radar outages and numerous flight delays and cancellations due to a shortage of air traffic controllers. Speaking Sunday...

Newark Air Controllers Lose Radar Screens Again

They went dark for around 90 seconds early Friday

(Newser) - Another troubling incident occurred early Friday at the air traffic control facility that covers Newark airport, where old copper phone lines were blamed for a breakdown in communications last week. Authorities say radar screens went black for around 90 seconds, starting at 3:55am, NBC News reports. "There was...

FAA Slows Traffic to Newark While It Fixes Major Issues

Old copper phone lines may have caused communications breakdown last week

(Newser) - The Federal Aviation Administration said Wednesday that it plans to upgrade the technology used to get radar data to air traffic controllers directing planes to the troubled Newark, New Jersey, airport, and improve staffing to alleviate problems that have caused hundreds of flights to be canceled there. At the same...

Air Traffic Controller Allegedly Punches Colleague in DC
A Punch Throws
DC Control Tower
Into Chaos
in case you missed it
Apr 6, 2025 7:00 AM CDT

A Punch Throws DC Control Tower Into Chaos

Air traffic controller arrested, charged with assault

(Newser) - An air traffic control supervisor was arrested Friday after allegedly assaulting a colleague in the control tower at Ronald Reagan National Airport. Damon Marsalis Gaines, 39, of Maryland, was charged with misdemeanor assault and battery, according to the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority. He allegedly punched a colleague Thursday during an...

Investigators Explain Scary Close Call on Nashville Runway

Alaska Airlines jet, Southwest jet nearly collided

(Newser) - Investigators said Wednesday that air traffic controllers cleared an Alaska Airlines jet to take off from Nashville last month after telling pilots of a Southwest Airlines jet to cross the same runway. Pilots of the Alaska plane aborted their Sept. 12 takeoff at Nashville International Airport, applying the brakes so...

Air Traffic Control Slip-Up Almost Caused Disaster

Paris controller cleared planes to take off, land on same runway

(Newser) - Air safety investigators in France say a number of factors almost caused a disaster at the country's biggest airport last year—including the fact that an air traffic controller was out of practice due to reduced flights during the pandemic. According to a report released Tuesday, a United Airlines...

Hot Mic Picks Up Pilot Ranting Against Liberals

And Hyundais, in Southwest Airlines audio caught on air traffic control scanner

(Newser) - Rule No. 1 of wearing a microphone: Always assume it's a hot one. A Southwest Airlines pilot found that out the hard way after his rant against liberals and a certain car manufacturer got picked up by air traffic control. Per travel site One Mile at a Time , the...

All Flights to Belgium Canceled for 24 Hours

Strike shuts down country's airspace

(Newser) - Nobody is going to be flying in or out of Belgium on Wednesday—at least not on commercial aircraft. All flights have been canceled for 24 hours amid a general strike by public transport workers, whose unions are calling for wage increases and have rejected a proposal of a 0....

Aviation Unions on Shutdown: We Can't Calculate the Risk

Reps for air traffic controllers, pilots, flight attendants say air safety system 'deteriorating'

(Newser) - Is it still safe to fly during the government shutdown? That's a question with a potentially uncomfortable answer, at least according to the unions representing more than 130,000 pilots, flight attendants, and air traffic controllers, per the New York Times . In a statement , the presidents of the three...

FAA: Air Traffic Controller Slurred Words, Went Dark

Officials are trying to figure out what went wrong at McCarran International Airport

(Newser) - Federal and airport authorities said Friday they're investigating why an air traffic controller became incapacitated and went silent while working a night shift alone in the tower at the busy McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas. "No safety events occurred during this incident," the FAA said in...

Air Traffic Controller Accused of Having Weapon of Mass Destruction

North Carolina man faces multiple charges

(Newser) - An air traffic controller accused of possessing a weapon of mass destruction has lost his airport access and could lose his freedom as well. George Dandan, who worked at Charlotte Douglas International Airport in North Carolina, was arrested Friday and charged with possession of a weapon of mass destruction, acquiring...

Trump Has Plan for Big Changes to Air Traffic Control

He wants privatization, separation from FAA

(Newser) - President Trump plans to lay out his vision for overhauling the nation's air traffic control system on Monday, outlining his goals to privatize the system in a White House speech. Trump will push for the separation of air traffic control operations from the Federal Aviation Administration, embracing an approach...

2 Weeks Until Chicago Control Center Reopens: FAA

Officials hope everything's up and running by Oct. 13 after sabotage

(Newser) - The Federal Aviation Administration says it will take about two weeks to fully reopen a Chicago-area control center, where an act of sabotage brought the city's two international airports to a halt last week. The FAA said yesterday it hopes to return the facility to full service by Oct....

FAA: Spy Plane Crashed LA Air Traffic Control

Computers couldn't handle high-altitude flight plan

(Newser) - A Cold War-era U2 spy plane crashed an air traffic control system in Southern California last week, causing the delay or cancellation of hundreds of flights, according to the Federal Aviation Administration. The agency says the system "experienced problems while processing a flight plan filed for a U-2 aircraft...

Major Airport Fails to Notice Deadly Crash

Another plane eventually noticed Nashville wreckage

(Newser) - A small plane crashed and burned at Nashville International Airport early yesterday, killing the pilot—but the exact time of the crash is unknown because nobody at the airport noticed it, CNN reports. The airport's control tower is staffed around the clock, but the airport wasn't aware of...

Spiders Swarm Air-Traffic Control, Delay Flights

Arachnids briefly shut down Kansas City airport

(Newser) - Arachnophobes and people afraid of flying will be equally creeped out by this story: Air traffic controllers in charge of guiding flights into Kansas City International Airport had to flee their posts because of a spider infestation, the New York Daily News reports. Five flights were delayed for around 15...

2 Planes Barely Miss Each Other Over New York

They reportedly came within 200 feet of each other in June incident

(Newser) - The FAA is investigating an incident in which two planes came frighteningly close to one another in the air over New York City, NBC 4 reports. The June 13 incident occurred when a Delta 747 missed its approach at JFK airport and circled around again—in the process running afoul...

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