FAA Accused Still Use Ancient Technology In Monitoring Aircraft

The aircraft traffic control tower is still using old technology. (photo: twitter @FAANews)

JAKARTA - Damage to the main computer system, which resulted in the suspension of US flight departures on Wednesday, January 11, was not the first problem that hampered the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) operation, and occurred amid efforts to improve technology.

The 90-minute cessation, caused by a problem with a warning system that sends safety messages to pilots and others, comes less than two weeks after a different critical air traffic control system caused flight delays at a main airport in Florida. The latest glitch interfered with more than 11,000 flights last Wednesday.

The FAA has struggled to modernize some of the long-standing parts of air traffic control. The US Department of Transportation's Inspection Office (OIG) report in 2021 repeatedly cited challenges in its Next Generation Air Transport System (Next Generation) infrastructure project worth billions of FAA dollars.

OIG says work has shown that the FAA has struggled to integrate key NextGen technology and capabilities due to extended program delays that have led to delays in ripple effects.

In October, for example, the FAA said it was working to end the practice of air traffic controllers who have long been ridiculed for outdated times and have lasted for decades using paper flight strips to track aircraft. However, if you adopt changes at 49 major airports, the FAA will only be able to complete it until the end of 2029.

According to its website, the FAA has also tried to modernize the Notices to Air Missions (NOTAM) system to improve the delivery of important safety information to aviation stakeholders. The system provides relevant, timely, and accurate safety notices to pilots, flight crews, and users of other US airspace.

April 2022, the FAA began investing $1 billion, from $5 billion set aside in an infrastructure package signed into law by 2022, to repair and replace key equipment in air traffic control systems, including power systems, navigation and weather equipment, as well as radar and surveillance systems across the country.

"There is a lot of work needed to reduce the arrears of maintenance work, improvement and replacement of the buildings and equipment needed to safely operate our country's airspace," said Deputy Administrator FAA, Bradley Mims at the time, quoted by Reuters.

In Florida, a system known as En Route Automation Modernization (ERAM) used to control air traffic prompted the FAA on January 2 to issue ground stop orders, slow traffic to airports and stop hundreds of flights.

The problem with the ERAM system at Miami's main regional air traffic control center is the cause of dozens of flight delays at Miami International Airport and flights to other airports in the southern US state.

ERAM in 2015 replaced the 40-year-old En Route Host computer and a backup system used in 20 FAA Air Route Traffic Control Centers across the country.

The chairman of the US Transportation Committee Sam Basang, a Republican, declared the FAA's failure an "unforgivable" failure to properly maintain and operate the air traffic control system.

The FAA said in 2020 it was more difficult for the FAA to quickly and effectively recruit technical talent than in the past.

The Department of Transportation, which oversees the FAA, is struggling to leverage information technology. In 2019, a Government Accountability Office report on federal government IT planning found the DOT was one of the three main institutions without a modernization plan.