Aircraft Controllers Lose Radar in East Briefly; Fliers Held Safe

Air traffic controllers managing an area from New England to the Great Lakes operated without radar for six minutes because of a computer outage, a Federal Aviation Administration spokesman said Saturday.

The temporary loss of radar Friday posed no hazard for air travelers, spokesman Mike Ciccarelli said, although a controller who asked not to be identified described the situation as very dangerous.

Computer Failed

The outage occurred when a computer in Nashua, N.H., which is used to monitor air traffic for a 200-mile radius, failed Friday afternoon, causing a loss of radar for six minutes, Ciccarelli said.

Planes were ordered to fly more slowly and at greater distances from each other, he said. Some flights were rerouted to get them out of the affected air corridor. Planes that were to fly into New England were ordered to remain on the ground.

Backup System

Six minutes later, officials started a backup radar system, which allowed controllers to operate with less data.

Under normal circumstances each plane is tracked with a “data tag” appearing as a blip on the radar screen and showing the flight’s origin, destination and air speed, Ciccarelli said. With the backup system, a plane is tracked without the data tag.

He said the loss of information posed no danger because controllers “are trained to run that way.”

The computer was back in operation two hours later, Ciccarelli said.

The Nashua center is one of 20 air route traffic control centers across the country.