air traffic control

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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...

And the Airport Delays Begin...
 And the Airport Delays Begin... 
thanks, sequester

And the Airport Delays Begin...

Air traffic controllers, TSA workers, customs workers go on furlough

(Newser) - Here we go: Those promised airport delays , the result of furloughs caused by the sequester, have arrived. All three major NYC-area airports saw flights falling behind schedule yesterday and, as the Washington Post puts it, air traffic controllers "never caught up," with delays clocking in at between one...

Details Revealed of Near-Collision Close to JFK

Controller error almost caused catastrophe

(Newser) - Investigators have released chilling details of a near-catastrophe close to New York City's JFK airport early last year . An American Airlines Boeing 777 came within seconds of crashing into an Air Force C-17 cargo plane because of mistakes and miscommunications by air traffic controllers, the report found. The cargo...

Drunk Driver on Runway Shuts Philadelphia Airport

Kenneth Mazik forced plane to abort landing

(Newser) - Drunk drivers are a menace to people on the road, but this guy was a menace to people in the sky as well. Philadelphia Airport was closed for 35 minutes late yesterday morning after a man drove his Jeep through a fence and onto the airfield, forcing a passenger plane...

Congress OKs $63B to Update Air Control System

GPS technology will replace radar to control traffic

(Newser) - A bill to speed the update of the US air traffic control system from radar to one based on GPS technology and to open US skies to unmanned drone flights within four years received final congressional approval today. The bill passed the Senate 75-20, despite labor opposition to a deal...

Watchdog: Airport Errors Soaring

Runway 'incursions,' planes flying too close on the rise

(Newser) - The number of reported air traffic controller errors has jumped, along with the number of unauthorized planes, people, or vehicles on runways, according to a government report released yesterday. Incidents of planes flying too close to one another have nearly doubled in the last three years due to controller mistakes...

Newark International Airport the Least Punctual in America
 America's Worst Airport Is... 
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

America's Worst Airport Is...

... Newark International Airport, take a bow

(Newser) - If you need to get somewhere on time, try not to fly through Newark. The Newark International Airport “has been the worst of the worst,” the Wall Street Journal reports, with a whopping 40 of America’s 100 most-delayed flights taking off or landing there, according to data...

Pilot Suspended for Broadcasting Crude Rant

Southwest pilot's mic was stuck as he complained about 'gays, grannies'

(Newser) - A Southwest Airlines pilot was suspended without pay after he accidentally broadcast a rant about his failure to score with the airline's flight attendants to dozens of air traffic controllers and fellow pilots. The airline hires a "continuous stream of gays and grannies and grandes," the man...

Air Traffic Controller Caught Watching Movie on the Job

For three minutes, planes heard Samuel L. Jackson instead of instructions

(Newser) - Note to air traffic controllers: Watching a DVD at work may help to keep you awake, but ultimately it's not much better than napping. A controller in Oberlin, Ohio, learned that lesson the hard way early Sunday, when his microphone was accidentally activated and began transmitting the audio from...

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