Spy plane cause of air traffic control meltdown
A US spy plane has been confirmed of the cause of an air traffic control meltdown that caused travel chaos for thousands of passengers on the west coast of America.
The US Air Force confirmed the Cold War era plane flew into Los Angeles air space on a routine training exercise last week. As the Lockheed U-2 was travelling at 60,000-feet, it apparently caused problems for air traffic control, although the air force denied the plane was the cause of a computer outage that resulted in several cancelled flights and delays affecting thousands of passengers.
In a statement, the Federal Aviation Administration said air traffic control "experienced problems while processing a flight plan filed for a U-2 aircraft that operates at very high altitudes under visual flight rules."
As a result, Los Angeles Air Route Traffic Control Center’s ERAM computer system went down, causing disruption at several airports including Los Angeles, San Diego and Las Vegas.
The Air Force said it "filed all the proper flight plan paperwork in accordance with all FAA regulations."
The FAA reported the specific problem that caused the malfunction has been fixed but declined to elaborate.
The U-2 is similar to aircraft that flew high-altitude spy missions over Soviet Russia around 50 years ago.
Linsey McNeill
Editor Linsey McNeill has been writing about travel for more than three decades. Bylines include The Times, Telegraph, Observer, Guardian and Which? plus the South China Morning Post. She also shares insider tips on thetraveljournalist.co.uk
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