Andrew Tangel

They lost their radios and their radars for about 90 seconds, and they couldn't communicate with pilots. And that was a very scary situation for the controllers. They are managing Busy, complex airspace, and they keep airplanes safely separated. They tell them where to go, where to point the nose, how fast to go, all of that, and keep them out of harm's way.

They lost their radios and their radars for about 90 seconds, and they couldn't communicate with pilots. And that was a very scary situation for the controllers. They are managing Busy, complex airspace, and they keep airplanes safely separated. They tell them where to go, where to point the nose, how fast to go, all of that, and keep them out of harm's way.

And they do that with the tools that went dead.

And they do that with the tools that went dead.

And they do that with the tools that went dead.

There are planes taking off, landing, going hundreds of miles per hour. They're all in sequence. They need to know where not to fly. They need to know not to go in a certain direction to not have a conflict with another aircraft and crash into it.

There are planes taking off, landing, going hundreds of miles per hour. They're all in sequence. They need to know where not to fly. They need to know not to go in a certain direction to not have a conflict with another aircraft and crash into it.

There are planes taking off, landing, going hundreds of miles per hour. They're all in sequence. They need to know where not to fly. They need to know not to go in a certain direction to not have a conflict with another aircraft and crash into it.

And when the basic tools that air traffic controllers use don't work, it's very scary for them, but it raises obvious safety issues for the traveling public.

And when the basic tools that air traffic controllers use don't work, it's very scary for them, but it raises obvious safety issues for the traveling public.

And when the basic tools that air traffic controllers use don't work, it's very scary for them, but it raises obvious safety issues for the traveling public.

So that results in controllers needing to work six-day weeks, 10-hour days. There are reports of fatigue, stress, and so forth. I mean, controllers are known to like overtime, but some say that after a while, they'd rather have a better life-work balance.

So that results in controllers needing to work six-day weeks, 10-hour days. There are reports of fatigue, stress, and so forth. I mean, controllers are known to like overtime, but some say that after a while, they'd rather have a better life-work balance.

So that results in controllers needing to work six-day weeks, 10-hour days. There are reports of fatigue, stress, and so forth. I mean, controllers are known to like overtime, but some say that after a while, they'd rather have a better life-work balance.

The state of the system is really a function of years and years of neglect. It is a question about whether or not this administration that is focused on slowing down in many ways can beef up a very anemic and neglected system that everyone seems to think is long overdue for an overhaul.

The state of the system is really a function of years and years of neglect. It is a question about whether or not this administration that is focused on slowing down in many ways can beef up a very anemic and neglected system that everyone seems to think is long overdue for an overhaul.

The air traffic control system is this vast nationwide network of radars and navigation aids and air traffic control facilities, but a lot of the equipment is really old. And the state of the system is really a function of years and years of neglect.

The air traffic control system is this vast nationwide network of radars and navigation aids and air traffic control facilities, but a lot of the equipment is really old. And the state of the system is really a function of years and years of neglect.

You essentially have a system that is starved of resources that has had a lot of political interference with its ability to get money and its ability to spend money. And the results is that the Federal Aviation Administration spends like 90% or more of its budget for technology and equipment on maintaining old systems that are in many cases obsolete or nearing obsolescence.

You essentially have a system that is starved of resources that has had a lot of political interference with its ability to get money and its ability to spend money. And the results is that the Federal Aviation Administration spends like 90% or more of its budget for technology and equipment on maintaining old systems that are in many cases obsolete or nearing obsolescence.