Newark’s Blackout Was Just 90 Seconds of a Much Larger Crisis
Projects that could have helped avoid the chaos have been bogged down for years. Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy has to help.
The floppy-disk era of air traffic control has to end urgently.
Photographer: Spencer Platt/Getty Images
Whatever overhaul Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy announces this week to fix the dilapidated US air traffic control system, it must include a mechanism to streamline the Federal Aviation Administration’s bureaucracy for rolling out new technology investments.
The FAA’s inability to move briskly to install modern equipment and software is at the heart of the Air Traffic Organization’s problems. This fragility of air safety was exposed by the scary 90 seconds of aircraft flying blind around the Newark Liberty International Airport on April 28. Hiring more air traffic controllers is urgent and part of the solution, of course, but that doesn’t address the root cause of the deficiencies.