Second 90-Second Radar Failure Hits Newark Liberty; FAA Considers Cutting Flights

76 posts • OpenAI (o3)

Updated May 9, 2025, 09:28 PM

Air-traffic controllers overseeing Newark Liberty International Airport lost radar displays and radio communications for roughly 90 seconds at 3:55 a.m. Eastern on Friday, the Federal Aviation Administration said. The failure, traced to a telecommunications outage at Philadelphia TRACON Area C, briefly left controllers without the primary tools used to separate aircraft in one of the nation’s busiest air corridors. Friday’s breakdown was the second in less than two weeks; a similar malfunction on 28 April prompted the FAA to slow traffic, leading to hundreds of cancellations and delays. The latest incident again snarled schedules: average delays exceeded three to four hours and only 29 percent of flights arrived on time, according to preliminary FAA figures. Controllers, already coping with staffing shortages, asked a FedEx flight to relay word of the outage, underscoring operational strain. “That’s 90 seconds of a wholly filled-up sky of planes literally flying blind,” Senator Chuck Schumer said, renewing calls for swift corrective action. The FAA said its investigation is ongoing and that Friday’s report remains preliminary. The agency is weighing a broad reduction in scheduled flights at Newark until the reliability of the Philadelphia facility is assured and longer-term fixes are in place.

More breaking stories on DeepNewz — updated live.

#Newark Liberty International Airport #Federal Aviation Administration #FAA #FedEx #Chuck Schumer #Newark #Philadelphia

Related Prediction Markets

Karen Read guilty in officer's death?

Will Trump remove majority of reciprocal tariffs before 90 day deadline?

•

View market suggestions→

Sources

forbes.com(4)apnews.com(3)abcnews.go.com(3)cbsnews.com(2)

ABC News Live

@ABCNewsLive

Radar screens at New Jersey's Newark Airport went black again early Friday morning and lasted about 90 seconds. @SweeneyABC has more on the outage and the impacts. “Today, delays are over 3 -4 hours on average, only 29% of flights have arrived on time at Newark today.” https://t.co/c6B9M4yQd9