Group Claims ATOP Failure Affected Roughly 70 Planes

The National Air Traffic Controllers Association reports at 0100 EST the morning of March 5, there was a failure of the Advanced Technologies and Ocean Procedures (ATOP) system that New York Center air traffic controllers use to handle aircraft over the Atlantic Ocean.

A controller working the South Atlantic Sector -- one of three ATOP sectors that were open, according to NATCA -- first reported a CPAR failure. A CPAR failure is an indication to the controller that the protected profile of a particular flight has been corrupted. The only solution is to delete the flight plan from the system, and re-input all pertinent data for that flight, to ensure that the profile of the flight is protected in the system.

A controller working the North Atlantic Sectors looked at her sector messages and commented that she just had two CPAR failures. The original controller then stated that every aircraft in her sector had CPAR failed -- approximately 20 planes.

The controller working the North Atlantic stated the roughly 35 flights she was tracking were also CPAR failing. Controllers asked the controller working the Caribbean traffic if he was also having CPAR failures and he said yes, all his fights were now failing -- approximately 12 aircraft.

Flights leaving the United States had to be diverted back to Boston Center.

NATCA claims the Federal Aviation Administration's catastrophic plan in place for ATOP "failed miserably" -- and that it was the "outstanding work" of the nine controllers that kept the situation in check.

As of 1130 EST Monday, the system is still unstable... and the planned traffic for tonight will be one of the top 10 busiest nights of the year for New York Center, based on the Jet Stream and the projected traffic flows, according to New York Center controllers.

FMI: www.faa.gov, www.natca.org