+/-OT..Miami Airport problems...mention of 'computer program change'

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While they seem to have a handle on it for now, I thought folk here would be interested in it.

Here is the story from http://www.herald.com/content/today/docs/058616.htm

Published Wednesday, July 28, 1999, in the Miami Herald

Computer glitches delay airliners

ARNOLD MARKOWITZ Herald Staff Writer

Three times last week, radar computer glitches forced air traffic controllers at Miami International Airport to delay takeoffs and spread out aircraft in flight because their altitudes and other information disappeared from radar screens.

Thousands of airline passengers were delayed, but there were no accidents and apparently no close calls, according to the Federal Aviation Administration. Still, a controllers union president said the situation could have become dangerous if any pilot had failed to follow altitude and spacing instructions.

FAA technical experts think they have identified the problem, which is called ''scatter.'' Flight data that had vanished briefly last Thursday, Saturday and Sunday remained in sight Monday and Tuesday, spokeswoman Kathleen Bergen reported Tuesday afternoon.

''They believe they're narrowing down the source. There haven't been any scatters since they restarted the system at 12:50 a.m. Monday. They're still working to address the problem. . . . Our computer systems are very complex.''

Controllers use an automated radar tracking system, ARTS for short, to keep track of planes. The aircraft are symbolized on radar screens by slash marks, each accompanied by its own block of flight data.

''The ARTS data give the flight number, type of aircraft, air speed, altitude and destination, and all that information disappeared,'' said Andrew Cantwell, president of the airport control tower's chapter of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association. ''The biggest issue would be loss of the altitude data. If we don't know what it is and two airplanes are in close proximity, we could have a midair collision.''

Some of the failures lasted a minute or two, he said, although in most cases the altitude reappeared on radar screens before the other information came back.

Cantwell said each controller may be directing 10 to 15 planes at a time during busy periods, such as last Thursday when the flight data blanked out at 5 p.m. The system reset itself, but wasn't working properly, he said.

Controllers reacted by spreading out the traffic. They ordered pilots en route to Miami to stay 15 miles apart instead of the usual five. Between-plane distances on final approach to the airport were raised from three miles to five.

''Once the airspace was cleared, the ARTS was completely shut down and restarted,'' Cantwell said. ''This failure caused passengers to be held on the ground and arrivals were held outside the Miami approach control air space until the system was back on line.''

More failures occurred Saturday and Sunday. Cantwell said 41 takeoffs were delayed for an average of 20 minutes Saturday, followed Sunday by 140 takeoffs delayed for an average of 28 minutes. Again, increased separation between planes was ordered.

''Sunday night when the data disappeared, the altitude data came back very quickly but it took about a full minute for the rest to come back,'' Cantwell said. ''Then it failed again and that required a reboot of the system, so all in all there was about an eight-minute failure.''

Cantwell said that kind of problem started occurring sporadically after a computer program change was made July 15 and grew to its worst level last week.

Bergen, the FAA spokeswoman, said technicians discovered over the weekend that it happens only in ''directed handoff'' situations: A controller in an off-airport zone office, the Air Route Traffic Control Center, transfers direction of an incoming flight to the airport tower instead of waiting for the radar computer to transfer it automatically.

Those transfers are made only about 10 percent of the time -- usually because of weather problems, Cantwell said -- and probably can be avoided until the problem is corrected.

[End Story]

[While it is not directly caused by a y2k failure, it is related to the problems the FAA is having to deal with in implementing the newer software to be 'compliant.' Since those planes tend to fly over my house, work, and other family members' homes, I would appreciate it if they would fix it ASAP.]

Wouldn't you?

-- J (jart5@bellsouth.net), July 28, 1999

Answers

This is DEFINITELY a Y2K related problem. It's the same thing that happened, due to problems with ARTS, this past May in Chicago, NYC LaGuardia, Newark and Philadelphia.

<However, the older system is not Year 2000 compliant, forcing the FAA to quickly correct the glitches in the new,Y2K-compliant ARTS 6.05 ...>

<"They rushed this system into service, against our wishes, because they want to say we've got another 40 percent of our equipment Y2K compliant.">

See ...

MAY 6, 1999 - Chicago Tribune Flights Stack Up as Radar Bugs Out

On Wednesday, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) ordered a slowdown of traffic at O'Hare International and Midway Airports. For several hours on Wednesday, all flights were grounded "because of 'software glitches' in a radar program at the FAA's traffic control facility in Elgin."

On Tuesday, a cargo jet apparently came within 300 feet of a Southwest Airlines plane. "The computer bugs at the Elgin center involved an aircraft-tracking system that was returned to service only last month after being unplugged late last year because it repeatedly misidentified, or "ghosted," the location of planes on air-traffic controllers' screens...

A revision of the software called ARTS 6.05 was loaded onto computers Tuesday night. But on Wednesday, vital information that tells controllers the identity, speed and altitude of airplanes began to temporarily disappear from radar screens, FAA and union officials said...

After efforts to fix the problem failed, FAA management and the National Air Traffic Controllers Association agreed to deactivate the finicky ARTS 6.05 system and replace it Thursday morning with a retired version, ARTS 6.04, which had a solid track record.

However, the older system is not Year 2000 compliant, forcing the FAA to quickly correct the glitches in the new, Y2K-compliant ARTS 6.05 and get it back on-line soon, said FAA spokesman Tony Molinaro." http://www.sangersreview.com/990506.htm

FOLLOWING DAY ...

MAY 7, 1999 - NY Times Computer Snafu Creates Havoc at 3 Airports

Yesterday the Review reported on the software problem that forced a slowdown of air traffic in Chicago area airports ...

In today's [May 7] New York Times, we learn that similar problems occurred at the New York Air Route Traffic Control Center, in Ronkonkoma, N.Y., adjacent to MacArthur Airport in Suffolk County. The problem created "havoc at La Guardia, Newark and Philadelphia Airports."

The old system, called Host is being replaced with an upgrade called the Host Computer System Replacement and referred to as Hocsr. The article stated that "problems yesterday apparently occurred when the new computer was linked to a new type of display screen for the controllers...

When the new computer system failed yesterday at 6:25 A.M., the old one automatically took over, but it, too, promptly malfunctioned...

After the two computer systems failed, a third system was put into use... But since that system does not provide as much data, air traffic controllers had to increase the spacing between planes to 20 miles from 10."

Arlene Salac, a spokeswoman for the FAA said, "We haven't had this type of problem with the Hocsr before... Certainly we are concerned about it."

Henry Brown, who represents New York-area members of the Professional Airways System Specialists, said "They rushed this system into service, against our wishes, because they want to say we've got another 40 percent of our equipment Y2K compliant."

In a follow-up piece on the problems in Chicago ...

Chicago Tribune Bugs Force FAA to Put Older Radar System Back

FAA spokesman Tony Molinaro said, "We've made a top priority of correcting the glitches in the ARTS 6.05 software program in Chicago and returning it to service as soon as possible, but no later than June 30."

He also said that the "FAA does not have a fallback strategy if the kinks in ARTS 6.05 are not worked out by June 30 or -- in a worst-case situation -- by Dec. 31."

When asked what the FAA planned do if such a situation occurred, Molinaro said, "I wouldn't even want to speculate on it." http://www.sangersreview.com/990507.htm

-- Cheryl (Transplant@Oregon.com), July 28, 1999.


"Say JOE.....could ya give us a hand over here? We can't seem to get Mike to release his grip on Phil. Somebody mop up that puddle."

-- Will continue (farming@home.com), July 28, 1999.

Great. Just Frickin' Great. I've got a layover flight to Miami tonight (visiting my Dad in Florida for a few days).

*anger/fear/nausea*

This is absolutely THE LAST AIR TRAVEL for me until after 2000.

-- M.C. Hicks (mhicks@greenwich.com), July 28, 1999.


Well, folks, this article just up on AP Breaking News this morning is a bit Off Topic BUT does show how the FAA is idiotically alienating the air traffic controllers with moronic policies. Read and weep 'n gnash.

[ Fair Use: For Educational/Research Purposes Only ]

7/28/99 -- 4:43 AM

Fumes Sicken Controllers At Nation's Busiest Flight Center

AURORA, Ill. (AP) - Dozens of air traffic controllers had to leave work after being sickened by fumes at the nation's busiest flight control center, delaying flights across the Midwest.

Ron Dowmen, president of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association local, said 50 air traffic controllers left work Monday and Tuesday and five went to the hospital after complaining that the sealant caused nausea, blurred vision, headaches and rashes.

He said one controller temporarily lost his sight while monitoring the radar screens at the Chicago Air Route Traffic Control Center.

The fumes came from a nontoxic sealant applied Monday in the center's attic, the Federal Aviation Administration said.

Although the problem caused delays of up to two hours for flights into Chicago's O'Hare and Midway airports, outbound flights were not affected. Traffic flying through the area was mostly rerouted to the south, which extended some flight times.

The air traffic control center in Aurora, about 35 miles west of Chicago, is the country's busiest. It directs all traffic in the Midwest, including flights into and out of O'Hare and Midway airports.

FAA spokeswoman Kathleen Bergen said the agency discovered that chlorophrene, a nontoxic sealant, was irritating the control room staff Monday and stopped the sealing work. When the odor remained Tuesday afternoon, administrative staff were asked to leave and the control room was reconfigured to avoid an area where the odor had concentrated.

She said she did not know how many workers left or sought treatment. A hospital spokeswoman said the five controllers were expected to be treated for chemical inhalation and released.

The Aurora Fire Department has declared the center safe.

Dowmen said his union asked the FAA to stop air traffic in the region Tuesday for fear of an accident, but it refused.

``People are in jeopardy because the controllers are being impaired,'' he said. ``We're being told by the FAA to work until you start to feel sick. I don't believe that is a safe position to be in.''

Bergen said the FAA did not close the control center because it still had adequate staff to run it.
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-- Ashton & Leska in Cascadia (allaha@earthlink.net), July 28, 1999.


Wednesday, 28 July 1999 14:06 (GMT), (UPI Spotlight)

Fumes Sicken Air Traffic Controllers

CHICAGO, July 28 (UPI) - Fumes from a roof sealant have been sickening air traffic controllers at a suburban Chicago radar center that monitors flights over several Midwestern states.

The problem caused flight delays Tuesday but despite continued absences, a spokesman for the Chicago Department of Aviation said the only delays expected (Wednesday) were weather-related.
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Aha! Blame the weather (3-day snowstorm) [and terrorists] for everything!
And LIE, LIE, LIE, LIE, til nobody know what truth is anymore, or how to tell the truth.
Isn't this one of the signs of End Times?

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-- Ashton & Leska in Cascadia (allaha@earthlink.net), July 28, 1999.



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