Computer malfunction takes down portion of FAA radar tracking system, delays flights

Wednesday, August 16, 2000 Breaking News Sections

(08-16) 11:25 PDT OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) -- A computer malfunction at a Federal Aviation Administration facility here caused flight delays at two San Francisco Bay area airports Wednesday.

Flights into and out of San Francisco International Airport and San Jose International Airport experienced delays of as long as an hour.

The malfunction occurred about 8 a.m. PDT and affected radar systems by not providing altitude and air speed information for flights to and from Bay Area airports. Air traffic was transferred to a slower backup FAA system, said FAA spokesman Jerry Snyder.

The problem occurred at the Terminal Radar Approach Control Facility located at Oakland International Airport and may have been caused by a circuit breaker problem. An FAA investigation was underway, Snyder said.

``We, at no time, lost the aircraft from the screen,'' he said.

The tracking system was restored by 11 a.m. PDT, he said.

San Jose International Airport traffic experienced delays of about 45 minutes, according to airport spokesman Steve Luchenbach.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/news/archive/2000/08/16/state1425EDT0172.DTL

-- Martin Thompson (mthom1927@aol.com), August 16, 2000