Power Loss Cripples Air Control Center

A telephone company switching problem crippled a key air traffic control center for more than an hour Monday, delaying airline traffic in the nation’s capital and along much of the East Coast.

More than half of the radio air-to-ground frequencies and other communications channels were knocked out at the Washington Air Route Traffic Control Center at Leesburg, Va., the Federal Aviation Administration said.

“All airplanes headed for the Washington area were diverted,” said Fred Farrar, an FAA spokesman. “We used backup procedures to communicate with the planes. We had other facilities or control centers contact aircraft on those frequencies that were not functioning. There were no life-threatening situations.”