I can tell you what the real problem is.
"The FAA said in a statement that a telecommunications issue at the Philadelphia TRACON (terminal radar approach control) Area C facility, which guides aircraft in and out of Newark, caused the agency to issue a ground stop."
ABC NEWS, May 11, 2025
I watched Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy being interviewed by Kristen Welker on Meet the Press (NBC) this morning. He said that some of the systems used for air traffic control around the country are 25 to 50 years old.
And here is the real problem:
1) The older electronics technicians who understand analog electronic systems have mostly aged out of the workforce, and
2) For a few decades now, training in analog electronic theory, engineering, and maintenance has been ignored and diminished.
Example: a few years ago, Boeing was facing a critical shortage of qualified electronics technicians for their plant in Everett, WA. I was contracted through Everett Community College to write the curriculum, “Basic Electronics and Troubleshooting” (BET). Boeing’s goal for the course, which we hammered out around one of their conference tables, was that graduates would be able to pass an electronics competency exam. The kicker: I was to create the course, but I was not allowed to see the competency exam! This was an excellent move on Boeing’s part. It meant the classroom instruction, labs, and books had to thoroughly cover the subject. I couldn’t custom tailor the course to feed the students answers to Boeing’s exam. The course was so successful that a second course was developed, “Intermediate Electronics and Troubleshooting” (IET).
But back to Air Traffic Control.
People who don’t have deep experience with electronics systems think modernization is simple: “We’ll move the same functions to a computer-based system.” It is not simple, and people who think it is simple should do a deep-dive into the principles described by Chesterton’s Fence (Google it. If you don’t know about Chesterton’s Fence, you need to).
The requirements for reliability and the changes in vulnerability inherent in the shift to digital systems mandate a deep understanding of how analog electronic systems work, and how they provide reliability and security.
SUMMARY
It isn’t enough to train and hire more Air Traffic Controllers. The Air Traffic Controllers need reliable ATC systems that they can depend on, without interruption. Maintaining those systems is a separate skillset. We must train and hire people who are competent to keep these systems running reliably, and they must also be involved in the development of an effective modernization transition process.
#CallMeIfYouNeedMe #FIFONetworks
#FBPE #RejoinEU 
FAA air traffic control modernization efforts are a mess
