Earlier this week, Denver’s air traffic controllers experienced a six-minute loss of communication due to a power failure affecting several radio transmitters, according to reports.
This alarming incident left around 20 pilots unable to contact the control tower as they approached Denver International Airport for landing.
Eventually, one of the controllers managed to reach a pilot on the “guard line,” which is typically used in emergencies. That pilot then helped others who were also unable to connect with air traffic control by advising them to switch to different radio frequencies.
In the midst of the confusion, controllers at the Denver Airways Traffic Control Center relied on a backup frequency after attempting to use four others.
“It’s one thing to track a single plane without communication, but tracking multiple planes is far more challenging,” explained David Riley, a retired air traffic controller. “Even though they had radar coverage, it felt like watching a car accident unfold without being able to intervene.”
This disruption adds to a series of recent challenges with air traffic control communications. Newark Liberty International Airport has also faced significant cancellations following similar outages in recent weeks.
Transport Secretary Sean Duffy revealed plans to overhaul the nation’s aging air traffic control system last week, with a multi-billion dollar initiative. The proposal includes upgrading 618 radar units, installing 4,600 new connections, and modernizing the computers used by controllers.
Despite these plans, officials from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) testified at a Congressional hearing, stating that while they have made upgrades, it will take more than a year to fully hire new controllers. Currently, the FAA is short nearly 3,000 air traffic controllers and is considering improvements to telecommunications with a new fiber optic network.
Franklin McIntosh, assistant COO of Air Transport, indicated that they aim to hire 2,000 additional air traffic controllers by the end of 2025.
“We need to address the fatigue among controllers,” McIntosh mentioned. “This year should bring improvements that will outweigh the exhaustion, and we hope to see real benefits over the next 18 to 24 months.”
