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To learn more, let's invite Dave Riley. He is a retired FAA air traffic controller You spent many years on the tower. Dave, have you ever seen anything like this Yeah, it's, uh, had quite a big impact on the lives of all of us across the country. Uh, 9/11 was the biggest flight disruption we've seen, obviously due to security issues, and that's a different situation than what we experienced yesterday. During the September 11th flight shutdown, planes were forced to land at the nearest airport that could accommodate this type of aircraft, resulting in passengers being scattered across the country, far from their destinations.
However, yesterday, after the flight ban was imposed, passenger flights were allowed to continue to their destination airports, which certainly had a positive impact on the people who were on those planes. So, uh, this is a unique situation. Another flight suspension that occurred in 2023 through the NOTAM system was very short-lived. It seems to have lasted 90 minutes, and I don't know exactly how many flights were affected. But we'll have to figure this out, and as you mentioned, it'll definitely take a few days. Yes, because pilots, when they land, they exhaust their working hours, most of them. They can't just turn around, sleep for three or four hours, and take off again. They are required
to rest for a certain amount of time before they can enter the cockpit again. Yes, definitely. The airline faces a daunting task- moving equipment, aircraft, and crews to appropriate locations to operate these flights. So Administrator Berdal mentioned earlier during the press conference that today will probably be pretty chaotic while they move equipment and crews. And tomorrow, according to him, everything should return to normal. But apparently, as Natalie showed at LAX , there is a lot of luggage left behind across the country without its owners. So it may take a whole week to overcome all the consequences of this flight suspension and settle the situation. It appears this happened because the FAA
was trying to upgrade the equipment. Sean Duffy, the Transport Minister, was asked why they decided to try this update on a Friday afternoon rather than, say, in the middle of the night. Here is his answer. Listen. When you look at the country where the work was done, uh, the transition from copper to fiber, the transition from analog to digital, they happened at different times of the day. Therefore, we need to delve deeper into what exactly happened here. Again, was this, uh, an error on the part of our contractor L3 Harris or was it faulty equipment?
I mean, it's like trying to change a tire while a car is going, you know, 50 miles per hour on the freeway. It seems like there must be a better way to upgrade the country's air traffic control system. By the way, did anything like this happen when you worked in the tower? Oh, definitely. Nothing of this scale, but yes, when, say, equipment is being replaced or modernized, dispatchers are informed that, they say, work will be carried out at such and such a time. So if something goes wrong, you know about it, you can localize it and adapt pretty quickly.
I don't know if that was done in this particular case. They said it was a remote location. However, without revealing where exactly this place is located. But, as I understand it, the consequences were nationwide. So even if it was only in the east of the country, it had a certain ripple effect that spread to the west. And as the administrator said, 17 of 22 air traffic control centers were affected, prompting them to implement a nationwide flight shutdown to try to contain the problem, slow it down and keep planes on the ground, and create a safer environment for controllers if they lose contact. You mentioned security. Many people, perhaps millions, are asking if our system is secure. What will you answer them?
Well, I still consider it a safe system. However, as the Secretary has repeatedly mentioned today and last night, the system is old and in need of modernization, and it is worth noting that the administration is trying to obtain funds to purchase equipment. But such upgrades and changes to all this equipment will take years, uh, many more years after this administration leaves to install all this equipment. Not to mention the equipment, but air traffic controllers are also an important part of this system. And we, you know, have a 35- year minimum of air traffic control personnel, and the situation is only getting worse. Uh, even though
the administration says they hired 2,500 air traffic controllers, no. They hired 2,500 interns, and the U.S. House of Representatives conducted a 5-year study that found that only about 2% of these interns actually become full-fledged air traffic controllers. So, uh, this is dragging on. Not very good statistics. Dave Riley, who directed air traffic for the Marine Corps and the FAA for years. Thanks, Dave. Thanks for the invite, John. Please. Don't forget to like and subscribe to all Fox News on YouTube, and watch full shows already airing on Fox One.
