Flights Delayed After ILS Went Down

Snow that accumulated on its Category II ILS glideslope antenna at Reno-Tahoe International Airport Wednesday caused the precision landing equipment to malfunction. That forced the cancelation or diversion of 85 flights, a spokeswoman for the airport told ANN.

All of the equipment involved actually belonged to the FAA, according to spokeswoman Heidi Berthold. "The glideslope antenna iced over," she said. "Because of the ice, it couldn't send. We would de-ice it and it would just freeze over again because the heater wasn't working."

All arrivals and departures were stopped at around 1430 local time Wednesday, as a strong winter storm dumped as much as 10-inches of snow on the area around Reno and Lake Tahoe.

Flights into and out of the airport resumed at about 2000, Berthold said. Residual delays, however, affected seven flights Thursday morning. The FAA is still investigating the malfunction.

"We'll be investigating," Berthold said. "We'll take it all the way to the FAA in Washington."

FMI: www.faa.gov