- CHICAGO (Reuters) - Air traffic controllers complained Thursday that
faulty computer software had recently caused a loss of radar information
essential for monitoring planes around Chicago. A spokesman for the Federal
Aviation Administration, which runs the air traffic control system, countered
that the software had some ``wrinkles'' that were being ironed out, but
that the skies remained safe for air travelers.
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- A controller complained the software,
which was installed over the summer in Elgin, Illinois, and three other
control centers around the country, contributed to several cases where
aircraft had lost ``separation,'' or the minimum distance of three miles
horizontally and 1,000 feet vertically between planes. ``The computer tracking
system is not as good as the old system, it hasn't been tested, and it
contributes on a regular basis to misleading, false information about the
aircraft,'' Kurt Granger, a controller at the FAA's Elgin center that
monitors planes within a 40-mile radius of Chicago, told Reuters.
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- In one instance on Oct. 23, a plane had
to take evasive action to avoid a potential collision apparently after
its on-board warning alarm sounded, Granger said. But FAA spokesman Don
Zochert said the Oct. 23 incident, which was being investigated, was caused
by a controller's error and could not be blamed on the system. ``It's a
safe system. It's got some wrinkles that we're ironing out,'' Zochert said.
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- ``As we get to know the software, we're
finding a number of differences with the previous system,'' he said. While
acknowledging glitches in the software system, Zochert maintained that
``99 percent'' of air traffic problems were caused by controller errors.
Continuing consultations with controllers had resolved some problems with
the software, which was also being used for control centers near New York
City, Denver and Dallas, Zochert said. The system, called the Automated
Radar Terminal System III-E 605, is supposed to be immune to any ``Y2K''
problems, or the difficulties associated with computers not being able
to read the year 2000.
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- The Elgin facility hands off monitoring
of air traffic to controllers at local airports and to another facility
in Aurora, Illinois, which handles long-range traffic across several Midwest
states. Controllers at the Aurora facility reiterated complaints that they
were understaffed, while Zochert contended the facility is fully staffed.
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