Feds vow to overhaul US air traffic control system while fixing problems at troubled Newark airport

A deadly midair collision in January between a military helicopter and a commercial airliner, several additional crashes and technical problems that resulted in mass cancellations at New Jersey's biggest airport have prompted officials to pledge a fix for the nation’s outdated air traffic control system and vow to hire more controllers.

Doing so, they say, would help ensure safety and prevent the kind of problems that have plagued the Newark, New Jersey, airport since its radar system briefly failed last week.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy plans to unveil a multi-billion-dollar plan to overhaul the nation’s air traffic control system Thursday, while the Federal Aviation Administration works to quickly solve technology and staffing problems in Newark and avoid similar crisis elsewhere.

Amid turmoil, one thing seems clear: An aging system struggles to handle the nation’s more than 45,000 daily flights.

It’s uncertain whether Duffy’s plan that President Donald Trump supports will get the necessary congressional funding to be more effective than previous reform efforts during the last three decades. But Duffy says it's necessary. Already more than $14 billion has been invested in upgrades since 2003 but none have dramatically changed how the system works.

“We are on it. We are going to fix it. We are going to build a brand new system for all of you and your families and the American people,” Duffy said.

But details are scant. It's unclear whether the plan will involve privatizing the air traffic control system as Trump backed in his first term. Duffy has not highlighted that possibility. Thursday's announcement is expected to attract dozens of unions, which would likely oppose privatization, along with trade groups, industry representatives and family members of victims of the January crash.

For years, the system has operated well enough to be largely neglected by every administration, said University of Illinois professor Sheldon Jacobson, who has studied risks in aviation. “But well enough isn’t good enough when it comes to air travel because people’s lives are at risk.”

Jacobson is skeptical Duffy's proposal will succeed. But there could be renewed support following the collision between an American Airlines jet and an Army helicopter over Washington D.C. in January, and a plane that flipped and caught fire in Toronto.

The weaknesses of the nation's air traffic control system have for years been highlighted in reports and hearings. Most recently, a Government Accountability Office review released in March declared that 51 of the FAA's 138 systems were considered unsustainable and another 54 were potentially unsustainable. A 2023 outage in FAA's Notice to Airmen system forced the grounding of every flight nationwide for more than two hours.

“We’re dealing with an outmoded system and we have an outdated infrastructure,” said former Continental Airlines CEO Frank Lorenzo, who helped establish a major hub in Newark that United Airlines still maintains years after acquiring Continental. “We haven’t really given it the attention that it requires.”

The president of National Air Traffic Controllers Association told Congress that the majority of the FAA's telecommunications infrastructure at more than 4,600 sites relies at least in part on aging copper wires, instead of more reliable fiber optic lines that can handle more data. Unexpected outages related to those lines routinely cause ground stops at airports and appear to have led to the problems in Newark.

The radar system air traffic controllers in Philadelphia use to direct planes in and out of the Newark airport went offline for at least 30 seconds on April 28. That facility relies on radar data sent over lines from New York that may have failed, some of which are old copper phone lines. The FAA relies on those lines because Newark controllers were moved from New York to Philadelphia last summer to address staffing issues.

The FAA said Wednesday it plans to replace any old copper wires with fiber optics and add three new data lines between New York and Philadelphia. The agency is also working to get additional controllers trained and certified.

It wasn’t immediately clear how long either step will take, but Duffy has said he hopes the situation in Newark will improve by summer, which is when an ongoing runway construction project is scheduled for completion. Several controllers remain on extended trauma leave after the radar outage, which worsened staff shortages in Philadelphia.

In response, the FAA has slowed traffic in and out of Newark to ensure flights can be handled safely, leading to cancellations. Duffy also said FAA will meet with all airlines to determine how many flights the airport can handle. On Wednesday, Newark led the nation with 42 canceled departures and 46 canceled arrivals, according to FlightAware.com. That’s even after United cut 35 daily flights at the airport starting last weekend.

The FAA has made incremental improvements as part of its Nextgen program that was established in 2003. Advancements include development of the ADS-B system that provides more precise aircraft locations to controllers and other planes. That system has been a focal point of the investigation of the January crash because the Black Hawk helicopter was not using it to broadcast its location at the time of the collision.

Duffy has also tried to supercharge air traffic controller hiring by shortening the time it takes to get into the academy and improving student success rates. The FAA is also offering bonuses to experienced controllers to discourage early retirement.

A major challenge to upgrading the aviation infrastructure is that the FAA must keep the current system operating while developing a new system — and then find a way to seamlessly switch over. That's partly why the agency has pursued more gradual improvements in the past.

"The problem has existed for decades. It’s not because of neglect, but because it’s a hard problem to solve," said Jeff Guzetti, who is a former accident investigator who also worked in the Transportation Department's Inspector General's office for several years that was focused on aviation. “And it requires money and good management. And the FAA has been has had shortages of both money and in some cases good management for years.”

People prepare to board flights at Newark Liberty International Airport in Newark, N.J., Monday, May 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

A display shows the status of flights at Newark Liberty International Airport in Newark, N.J., Monday, May 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

Travelers check into their flights at Newark Liberty International Airport in Newark, N.J., Monday, May 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

FILE - Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy speaks to the media at the White House, Tuesday, May 6, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File)

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A powerful winter storm swept across California on Wednesday, with heavy rains and gusty winds bringing mudslides and debris flows that has led to some water rescues and evacuation orders.

Forecasters said Southern California could see its wettest Christmas in years and warned about flash flooding and mudslides. Areas scorched by January’s wildfires were under evacuation warnings, and Los Angeles County officials said the previous day that they delivered about 380 evacuation orders to especially vulnerable homes.

San Bernardino County firefighters said they rescued people trapped in their cars when mud and debris rushed down a road leading into Wrightwood, a mountain resort town in the San Gabriel Mountains about 80 miles (130 kilometers) northeast of Los Angeles. It was not immediately clear how many were rescued.

Firefighters also went door to door to check on residents, and the area was under a shelter-in-place order, officials said. Lytle Creek, also in the San Gabriel Mountains, was under evacuation orders in the afternoon as rains continued to pummel the area.

Debris and mud were seen cascading down a road in Wrightwood in a video posted by county fire officials. Another video showed fast-moving water rushing through the front porch of several homes.

The storm stranded Dillan Brown with his wife and 14-month-old daughter at a rented cabin in Wrightwood with almost no food and only enough diapers for about another day. By the morning, roads leading off the mountain and to a grocery store were blocked by rocks and debris, Brown said.

“I came across (a road) where there was a car sucked away by the water and realized we were trapped here,” he said.

A resident learned of his situation and posted a call for help in a Facebook group, and in less than an hour, neighbors showed up with more than enough supplies to ride out the storm, including bread, vegetables, milk, diapers and wipes.

“I think we’re a little sad and upset that we’re not going to be home with our families,” Brown said, but the “kindness shown is definitely an overwhelming feeling.”

Janice Quick, president of the Wrightwood Chamber of Commerce and a resident of the mountain town for 45 years, said a wildfire in 2024 left much of the terrain without tree coverage and “all this rain is bringing down a lot of debris and a lot of mud from the mountain area.”

Residents around the burn scar zones from the Airport Fire in Orange County were also ordered to evacuate.

Areas along the coast including Malibu were under flood warnings until the evening, and much of the Sacramento Valley and the San Francisco Bay Area were also under wind and flood advisories.

The Los Angeles Fire Department rescued a man trapped in a drainage tunnel in northwest LA. No injuries were reported, but the man was being evaluated.

Several roadways including a part of Interstate 5 near the Burbank Airport were closed due to flooding.

Conditions could worsen with multiple atmospheric rivers during one of the busiest travel weeks of the year. The storm in Los Angeles was expected to strengthen into the afternoon before tapering off later in the evening.

James Dangerfield, an 84-year-old resident of Altadena, said his family and neighbor helped place sandbags in his backyard earlier this week. A flash flood warning was issued for the neighborhood, but he wasn't too worried because his house is on a hill.

He and his wife, Stephanie, planned to remain there and spend Christmas Eve with their two adult daughters and grandchildren.

“We’re just going to stay put, and everybody will have to come to us,” Dangerfield said. “We’re not going to go anywhere.”

Mike Burdick, who takes care of his parents in Altadena near burn scars from the Eaton Fire, ran out to buy more sandbags in the morning when he saw that the pool was overflowing.

“I literally woke up to just downpour,” he said.

The family was prepared to evacuate with a week’s worth of essentials including for their dog and cat. They planned to attend a nearby holiday party in the evening.

“We’re just going to make an appearance and get back safe to our animals,” Burdick said.

Southern California typically gets half an inch to 1 inch (1.3 to 2.5 centimeters) of rain this time of year, but this week many areas could see between 4 and 8 inches (10 to 20 centimeters) with even more in the mountains, National Weather Service meteorologist Mike Wofford said.

Forecasters said heavy snow and gusts were expected to create “near white-out conditions” in parts of the Sierra Nevada and make travel “nearly impossible” through mountain passes. There was also a “considerable” avalanche risk around Lake Tahoe, according to the Sierra Avalanche Center.

The National Weather Service said a winter storm warning would be in effect for the greater Tahoe region until Friday morning.

Power was knocked out to more than 125,000 due to a damaged power pole, according to the Pacific Gas and Electric Co. utility.

The California Highway Patrol was investigating a seemingly weather-related fatal crash south of Sacramento. A driver who was apparently traveling at an unsafe speed lost control on a wet road and crashed into a power pole, Officer Michael Harper said via email.

San Francisco and Los Angeles airports reported some minor morning flight delays.

Gov. Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency in six counties to allow state assistance in storm response.

Flash flooding in Northern California has led to water rescues and at least one death, authorities said.

The state deployed emergency resources and first responders to several coastal and Southern California counties, and the California National Guard was on standby.

Atmospheric rivers transport moisture from the tropics to northern latitudes in long, narrow bands of water vapor that form over an ocean.

Associated Press writers Sophie Austin in Sacramento and Jessica Hill in Las Vegas contributed.

Miguel Lopez sweeps water from Marlene's Beachcomber on the Santa Monica pier Wednesday, Dec. 24, 2025, in Santa Monica, Calif. (AP Photo/Wally Skalij)

Miguel Lopez sweeps water from Marlene's Beachcomber on the Santa Monica pier Wednesday, Dec. 24, 2025, in Santa Monica, Calif. (AP Photo/Wally Skalij)

Miguel Lopez sweeps water from Marlene's Beachcomber on the Santa Monica pier Wednesday, Dec. 24, 2025, in Santa Monica, Calif. (AP Photo/Wally Skalij)

Miguel Lopez sweeps water from Marlene's Beachcomber on the Santa Monica pier Wednesday, Dec. 24, 2025, in Santa Monica, Calif. (AP Photo/Wally Skalij)

A tourist from China battles the rain on the Santa Monica pier Wednesday, Dec. 24, 2025, in Santa Monica, Calif. (AP Photo/Wally Skalij)

People look toward traffic on the Golden Gate Bridge from the Golden Gate Overlook in San Francisco, Tuesday, Dec. 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)

A pedestrian carries an umbrella while walking on a path at Alamo Square Park, in San Francisco, Tuesday, Dec. 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)