Newark Airport and it's problems

Sparkchaser · 2025-05-07T21:27:54+00:00

*** EDIT Please NO POLITICS *** I’ve been watching this all week. As best I can understand it, air traffic controllers lost radio and radar contact with planes heading to Newark Liberty International Airport due to an equipment outage on April 28. The ATCs are in Philly. It took 30-90 seconds to get it back online. Some ATCs were so upset by this they took leave. Making it more of a problem. United cancelled 35 flights a day. About 1500 flights were delayed last week. https://www.cnbc.com/2025/05/07/newark-air-traffic-control-strain-staffing-technology.html Newark to Shannon are the only flights I’ve been on in the last 15 years.

px_eliezer_

InternetJeff I’m seeing coverage daily on all of the ATC misadventures in the Northeast, from 2K miles away.

Exactly.

And because Newark Liberty is one of the main national hubs for various airlines, not only is it quite busy, but also when problems DO occur they snowball all across the country and beyond.

It may also be that Newark Liberty has grown proportionally larger compared to other big places such as Chicago O’Hare, LAX, or Atlanta Hartsfield.

But for that matter there were problems TODAY at Atlanta AND Newark.
Mother’s Day mayhem as ground stops issued at Newark and Atlanta airports
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/ground-stop-issued-newark-airport-rcna206109

px_eliezer_

InternetJeff I’m seeing coverage daily on all of the ATC misadventures in the Northeast, from 2K miles away.

It MAY also be that the feds have somewhat neglected Newark Liberty (on a RELATIVE basis) because it is a stepchild among the 3 NY airports, JFK being the focus for International travel, and LaGuardia for domestic.

Heat84

Stembolt

Stembolt US experiences 1,000 air traffic control failures each week due to ancient equipment — with ‘more and more’ expected, insiders say

Do any of you geezers remember installing this equipment 50 years ago?

Sparkchaser

Another ground stop reported, this time for Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson.
https://www.foxbusiness.com/fox-news-travel/telecommunications-issue-newark-airport-leads-more-delays-faa-confirms

Oh and another ground stop for that airport in NJ. 😏
Another, telecommunications issue.
https://www.foxbusiness.com/fox-news-travel/telecommunications-issue-newark-airport-leads-more-delays-faa-confirms

How old is this stuff?? And no, I never worked on it. 😉

broknsymetry

Heat84 Do any of you geezers remember installing this equipment 50 years ago?

Not 50 years ago, but over 40 (1984). Not for commercial flights, but for the military. Not installation, civilian contractors were finalizing the install when I arrived for maintenance and repair. But yes, I remember the RATCF DAIR (AN/TPX-42A(V)10).

broknsymetry

John Oliver on Air Traffic Control issues…

Splitpair

px_eliezer_ An air traffic controller, who was on duty that day, 28 April, told CNN that the outage “was the most dangerous situation you could have”. The dropout in communications was blamed on the Philadelphia air traffic control facility where a single unsheathed copper wire shorted out equipment.

It would be nice if they could get their facts correct, the failure was due to a telco Special Circuit failure not shorted out equipment.

The FAA is still living in a copper pair mode in an age where the average Joe can get fiber optic service for a lower monthly fee.

Splitpair

Heat84 Do any of you geezers remember installing this equipment 50 years ago?

Fifty years ago, heck it is still being installed today.

I have worked on a FAA TDWR site in Broward that has two Special Circuits one primary, one as a backup, both are run from the site to a RT 6 miles away, when one fails due to a copper problem the other commonly fails as well.

wdunwoody

…I find it difficult to believe that Verizon couldn’t activate point-to-point fiber circuits between these facilities in a matter of days. There is definitely fiber plant available within EWR. The other thing is this… are there or are there not controllers in the actual EWR tower? And if not, why not? There are multiple radar installations at Newark Airport. The roof of the control tower is covered with VHF antennas. The distance from an antenna on the roof to a VHF transceiver IN the tower would be what… 50 feet, max? From radars on-site to the tower… less than a mile, all within the EWR property…

egeezer

Heat84 Do any of you geezers remember installing this equipment 50 years ago?

I remember installing Series 1 systems at CLE back in the mid 1970s. They were used to monitor taxiway and terminal traffic controls and lights.

Series 1s were used in lots of civilian and military equipment. I remember one of my colleagues servicing one that was used on a submarine.

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