Shocking Audio Reveals Air Traffic Controllers in Chaos During FAA Tech Outage: "We Have a Major Problem"

Amazing ATC recordings capture the instance when personnel lost both radar and radio contact while directing aircraft. Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey last week.

On April 28th, an outage occurred lasting approximately 90 seconds. According to confirmation from the National Air Traffic Controllers Association provided to Fox News Digital, the FAA’s operations center in Philadelphia temporarily lost contact with radars and communication capabilities for the planes they were managing, making it impossible to observe, listen to, or communicate with these aircraft.

The recording captures the beginning stages when controllers first learn about an outage occurring at Philadelphia TRACON/ATCT.

"One individual can be heard stating, 'There are some equipment failures, though I'm not sure of their exact nature. They’re experiencing problems with frequencies, and furthermore, the radar screens aren’t operational, which means they cannot allow any departures at this moment,'" he says.

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" I am going to move you here because I just got told that the approach lost all the radars. Three of the four radar screens went black and they have no frequencies," another says.

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A different man comments, "This seems like a grave matter since I still have another person arriving, but now there’s no one following them."

The recording includes controllers trying to gather additional details about the blackout.

"Any idea how long the departure delay is going to be?" one man asks in the audio.

" I have no idea. We're still waiting on word from Newark TRACON," another quickly replies.

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"The approach just told me that a couple of techs went in, looked at the radar scope and walked out," a man is heard saying. "They think it's going to be a likely delay."

The event occurred before significant delays and cancelations took place. New Jersey travel hub, which has been ongoing since Thursday.

In a statement obtained by FOX Business, the FAA addressed the staffing shortages that have contributed to the issue.

"While we cannot quickly replace [the controllers who have left] due to this highly specialized profession, we continue to train controllers who will eventually be assigned to this busy airspace," the agency said Monday.

"When staffing or equipment issues occur, the FAA will ensure safety by slowing the rate of arrivals into the airport. We will keep the public updated as we work through these issues."

Kyle Schmidbauer from Fox News Digital provided contributions for this report.

Original article source: Stunning new recordings reveal air traffic controllers responding to an FAA technology failure: 'This is a major problem'