FAA Computer Glitch Caused Widespread Flight Delays: An FAA computer glitch for the second time in 15 months has rippled through airports across the country, causing major delays. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) announced today that a computer glitch would cause delays and cancellations of flights nationwide.
The problem involved the FAA computer system that files automated flight plans, forcing air traffic controllers to revert to the much more time-consuming approach of entering flight plans by hand.
That produced a “domino effect” delaying flights around the country, the National Air Traffic Controllers Association said in a statement. It said the system for processing flight plans was coming back online, but that there will likely be flight delays throughout the day.Delays began on the East Coast and were rippling out to the west. The problem wasn’t affecting radar coverage or communications with planes in the air, the FAA said. The air traffic controllers union, however, said the FAA systems that provide information on weather and wind speeds at airports also weren’t functioning.
