What Happens When Air Traffic Control Systems Go Dark?

Recent outages at Newark airport highlighted the challenges facing air traffic controllers. What's the science underpinning air safety?

At the end of April, air traffic control radar surveillance and radio communication systems at Newark airport went dark for over a minute. A week and half later, radar went down again briefly. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has since cut down the number of flights in and out of Newark. But, how does our air traffic control system work? How do air traffic controllers keep track of all of the planes in the sky? And what happens when systems fail? Michael McCormick, a former air traffic control operations manager at the FAA, joins Host Flora Lichtman to dive into the science of air traffic control. 

Guest: 
Dr. Michael McCormick is a former vice president of the FAA’s Air Traffic Organization,  and an associate professor and program coordinator of Air Traffic Management at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University.

Transcripts for the segment will be available after the show airs on sciencefriday.com.

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