Can ‘Brand New Air Traffic Control’ Fix the FAA’s Old Problems?

Few federal agencies have undertaken as many star-crossed technology upgrades as the Federal Aviation Administration. Its latest overhaul — forthrightly called the “brand new air traffic control system” — needs to learn from those mistakes.

The FAA manages some 80,000 flights a day. Its staffers have a remarkable record under pressure over the years. Yet cracks in the system have been widening for some time, and several recent incidents — including staffing breakdowns, communications outages and a deadly midair collision over Washington last year — suggest that a crisis is imminent.