ATC Systems “Seamless” In LAX Power Bump

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Backup systems worked perfectly to maintain air traffic control and communications functions during a power failure at Los Angeles International Airport Monday. “The system worked seamlessly without interruption to air traffic operations,” said FAA spokesman Greg Martin. Monday’s power failure was in sharp contrast to one a week earlier in which the backup systems failed and parts of the system weren’t restored for almost five hours. Martin said they’re looking into the earlier failure, which delayed dozens of flights. FAA systems have a two-stage backup system. When the lights initially go off, batteries supply power to the computers and consoles until generators come online with a stable power source. In the April 12 incident, the batteries failed to kick in. Martin said the whole system didn’t shut down, however. The DBRITE tower radar system and radio communications were restored almost immediately. The L.A. Times is reporting that a crow shorted out a power line to cause the outage. The most recent outage turned the lights off in some buildings for two hours.

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