Logan Replacement Radar Operational

Logan Replacement Radar Operational



04/24/00 07:56:58 PM U.S. EDT

BOSTON (AP)--An airport radar system that collapsed at Logan International Airport, delaying hundreds of Easter weekend flights, was replaced Monday and the new radar was tracking flights by afternoon.

The Airport Surveillance Radar 9 system, installed in 1991, was used by air traffic controllers to track weather and planes within an 8-mile (12.8-kilometer) radius of Logan (shown). It was built to withstand hurricane-force winds but collapsed Saturday morning under winds half that strength.

Air traffic controllers switched to a slower backup system that allowed for only about 26 flights an hour, half the airport's usual capacity. More than 500 flights were canceled, and hundreds of others were delayed.

“The ASR9 is considered 99.6 percent reliable,” Federal Aviation Administration spokeswoman Arlene Salac said Monday. “This is that .4 percent.” Salac said the FAA does not plan to inspect ASR9 units located at 133 other U.S. airports.


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