ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Friday, April 25, 1997 TAG: 9704250071
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B-4 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: WASHINGTON
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS
But an airport spokesman said the situation was "not unsafe."
Three radar scopes monitoring flight patterns at Washington National Airport failed on Wednesday, prompting air traffic controllers to question the reliability of the 26-year-old equipment recently moved to a new state-of-the-art tower.
The three scopes failed within two hours of each other Wednesday morning, but there were no delays or other problems as a result, said Arlene Salac, spokesman for Federal Aviation Administration. National has 10 radar scopes.
The problem ``did not impact air traffic,'' Salac said. ``It's not an unsafe situation.''
One scope failed to tell how fast planes were flying in its sector, and another had keyboard problems, Salac said. The third is being evaluated, she said. The radar scopes were shifted from the facility's old radar room to the new one when the tower opened April 6.
Andy Acres, president of the Washington chapter of the National Air Traffic Controller Association, said the airport has had four other radar failures recently. He said he is concerned that the equipment was too old to withstand the recent move.
``That's incredible. It's very scary with the amount of traffic that we work,'' Acres said. ``You're talking to a lot of planes. You're separating them from other air traffic and air space ... or you're working departures, and you're scope fails. It goes black.''
When a scope fails, the controller monitoring it must move to another scope to view the sector, he said.
Salac downplayed the danger of the radar failures, saying the scopes are highly reliable and in use all across the country. She said she couldn't confirm the other four incidents cited by Acres.
The FAA has contracted for a new radar system for the more than 500 airport towers nationwide. National is slated to receive the new system in 1999.
LENGTH: Short : 46 linesby CNB