Corpus Christi Caller Times Caller.com - FAA computer glitch causes flight problems in the East

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Friday, January 7, 2000

FAA computer glitch causes flight problems in the East
Trouble transferring data at air traffic control center causes hundreds of flight delays and cancellations
Associated Press

WASHINGTON - Computer problems grounded airplanes Thursday for a second time this week, frustrating passengers trying to fly in and out of nearly a dozen cities across the eastern third of the nation, the Federal Aviation Administration said.
   Hundreds of flights were delayed when a computer at an FAA air traffic control center in Leesburg, Va., experienced problems transferring data about 5:45 a.m.
   The computer processes information from radar systems, air traffic control centers around the East Coast and flight plans filed by airlines and individual pilots.
   Normal operations resumed at 8:49 a.m., but the delays left passengers sitting aboard planes lined up on runways or waiting at gates for flights postponed or canceled.
   Among the passengers grounded at Washington Reagan National Airport was Rep. Edward Pease, R-Ind., a member of the House Transportation Committee's aviation panel. He was trying to fly to Indianapolis to deliver a speech, but his plane never took off.
   Pease said the delay underscores the need for Congress to give the FAA money to further modernize the air traffic control system, which is currently undergoing a $13 billion system upgrade.
   He said the problem has not yet been identified, but it does not appear to be related to Y2K, the term used to describe glitches that occurred as computers made the rollover from 1999 to 2000.

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