Broken Radar Delaying LGA Flights

[T-Bird76]

If LGA didn't have enough issues...here's another one.

http://www.newsday.com/news/local/trans ... 5270.story

[LGA777]

I came in at 1300 today and this is the first I've heard about this. Least delays I have seen all week and probably in the top 3 for least delays in the last 30 days.

Cheers

LGA777

[HPNPilot1200]

The article wasn't too clear which radar site(s) went down, or if there was simply an issue with the radar feeds being piped into the facility. When the HPN ASR-9 is down, the LGA area sectors revert to the EWR or JFK ASR which makes the computers and other affected equipment act a little screwy (LGA departures won't always tag up, etc). This happened once when I visited the facility and the controller working LGA departure got chewed for screwing up a departure due to the system/computer malfunction(s).

I wouldn't necessarily say it caused delays as much as lots of headaches for controllers. This type of equipment failure happens all the time, usually the media just doesn't report it. Thank the FAA...

[moose135]

The article wasn't too clear which radar site(s) went down, or if there was simply an issue with the radar feeds being piped into the facility.

From the article...

A breakdown in radar equipment at Kennedy Airport is causing delays of close to one hour on some arriving flights at LaGuardia Airport on Tuesday, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.
...
The broken equipment is called an ASR -- short for Airport Surveillance Radar. The radar tracks aircraft in a 30-mile radius in New York airspace, Murray said, and forwards that information to the New York TRACON Center in Garden City, where air traffic controllers direct flights into and out of area airports.

[njgtr82]

The article wasn't too clear which radar site(s) went down, or if there was simply an issue with the radar feeds being piped into the facility. When the HPN ASR-9 is down, the LGA area sectors revert to the EWR or JFK ASR which makes the computers and other affected equipment act a little screwy (LGA departures won't always tag up, etc). This happened once when I visited the facility and the controller working LGA departure got chewed for screwing up a departure due to the system/computer malfunction(s).

I wouldn't necessarily say it caused delays as much as lots of headaches for controllers. This type of equipment failure happens all the time, usually the media just doesn't report it. Thank the FAA...

When the primary radar goes down and your on a secondary system theres greater IFR seperation requirements. So it may have caused more space in between arrivals and departures creating a little more of a delay then usual.

[HPNPilot1200]

From the article...

A breakdown in radar equipment at Kennedy Airport is causing delays of close to one hour on some arriving flights at LaGuardia Airport on Tuesday, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.
...
The broken equipment is called an ASR -- short for Airport Surveillance Radar. The radar tracks aircraft in a 30-mile radius in New York airspace, Murray said, and forwards that information to the New York TRACON Center in Garden City, where air traffic controllers direct flights into and out of area airports.

Since the media incorrectly reported where the TRACON is physically located (it's on Stewart Avenue in Westbury) and average range of ASR-9 (~63 mile range), I sort of assumed they incorrectly reported the location of the radar outage. It's always a toss-up with the general media outlets when it comes to aviation. :(

When the primary radar goes down and your on a secondary system theres greater IFR seperation requirements. So it may have caused more space in between arrivals and departures creating a little more of a delay then usual.

When I was at the facility last, I was told that the increased radar separation doesn't apply when still using a single-sensor ASR-9, but does increase as soon as a terminal mosaic (2-16 sites) is used in accordance with 7110.65R 5-5-4 (b)(1). If they somehow had to revert to a terminal mosaic, then things would definitely get a bit backed up with an extra 2 miles though the guys down in Westbury do a great job handling most every situation they're faced with.