Phoenix Radar Outage Delays 100 Takeoffs
Radar scopes in the control tower at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport went dark for two hours Thursday at the height of morning air traffic, delaying 100 flights for up to 90 minutes, officials said.
All radar scopes in the main tower went on the blink at about 9 a.m., leaving controllers to rely on antiquated techniques for guiding planes during a period when Sky Harbor handles an average of 104 takeoffs and landings, airport spokesman Rick Martinez said.
“We were using (air traffic control) techniques used before radar, throwing us back 20 to 30 years in terms of technology,” Martinez said.
Radar was restored just before 11 a.m., as airport officials were preparing to set up an alternative system for guiding Sky Harbor’s air traffic through radar at the nearby Luke Air Force Base.
About 100 takeoffs were delayed for up to 1 1/2 hours, and landings were “very, very slow,” Martinez said, but no incoming flights were diverted to other airports. The two-hour radar outage occurred during the busiest time of the morning for the Sky Harbor tower, he said.
Martinez said that it would take two or three hours for air traffic to return to normal.
Officials could not immediately determine the cause of the radar outage.
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