The Department of Transportation’s Inspector General’s Office will conduct an audit starting next month concerning the move of the Newark Air Traffic control to Philadelphia in the aftermath of multiple blackouts taking place this year, the DOT announced on Monday.
The DOT explained that the background to the audit is that last July the Federal Aviation Administration transferred Terminal Radar Approach Control responsibilities for the airspace surrounding the Newark International Airport from the New York TRACON (N90) to the Philadelphia Air Traffic Control Tower with the intention of addressing chronic understaffing at N90.
But in April this year air traffic controllers overseeing Newark’s airspace experienced an approximately 90-second blackout of radar and radio contact with air traffic due to a burnt copper wire, and the following month an additional 90-second outage took place due to failures of both primary and redundant communication infrastructure.
These events have raised questions about FAA’s management of the relocation — including impacts on system redundancy, controller staffing and training, and operational resilience, according to the DOT announcement.
The inspector general said that given these concerns, the secretary of Transportation requested that an audit be initiated to review FAA’s decision to relocate TRACON responsibilities for this airspace.
The objectives of the audit, according to the announcement, will be to assess FAA’s relocation of Newark approach control operations from New York to Philadelphia, including FAA’s planning and risk assessment process and response to its operational impact on flight delays, cancellations, and safety incidents.
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