Pete Muntean

NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy calls Trump Administration plans to revamp the air traffic control system “absolutely necessary for safety.” Underscores that NTSB has recommended ATC upgrades for decades and “real infrastructure investment to ensure safety in our skies.” https://t.co/Ik9BTubwYy

NOW: Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy flanked by aging technology that will be replaced as part of an air traffic control overhaul in 3-4 years. “I didn’t get this off the set of Apollo 13,” he says. “All new hardware, all new software, is going to be built into this system.” https://t.co/l7diAmV0TD

CNN LIVE EXCLUSIVE: United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby tells me that Newark flights *are safe* after the ATC meltdown that triggered staff shortages and delays. Kirby is hopeful the FAA will reimplement EWR slot rules and start accelerated tech upgrades, being announced today. https://t.co/cPVVtlcu2J

NEW REPORTING: Newark air traffic control systems failures have happened before. Last November, controllers *lost the ability to communicate* with a FedEx flight. A Newark approach controller tells me "it was by the grace of god" that there wasn't a midair collision. https://t.co/6xgAf6YISe

JUST IN: United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby says the FAA must reimplement restrictions on the number of flights at Newark's airport to blunt rolling delays and capacity issues. "It was a mistake to de-slot the airport in 2016," Kirby says. "Every single data point says so." https://t.co/IrbrLzGpTf

New Yorkers, I’ll be joining @BrianLehrer on @WNYC this morning at 10:40 a.m. EDT to talk about the latest on the Newark air traffic system meltdown. Tune in!

SCOOP: An air traffic controller in the Newark approach facility during the April 28 systems meltdown tells me "it was the most dangerous situation you could have," and it's happened before. "We all expected what happened in D.C. to happen here." https://t.co/5w5vrW7YJB

NEW STATEMENT: The FAA vows to increase ATC staffing and replace a copper telecom line involved in the April 28 meltdown that severed Newark approach control's ability to see and communicate with flights. https://t.co/n4vO1rwr3f

NEW REPORTING: Last week's ATC radar and radio outage at Newark approach control lasted between 60 and 90 seconds, multiple sources tell CNN. A source familiar with the outage tells me that copper wire—used to relay info after the FAA moved the facility to Philadelphia—failed. https://t.co/oNDzUC5Z9i

No pilot? No problem! I got a demo of the new push-button technology going into Cirrus SR-series airplanes that automatically lands… in case the pilot can’t. https://t.co/ep397yWP3I

NEW analysis by FlightRadar24 says 885 Newark flights have been canceled since the April 28 air traffic approach control meltdown that led to days of rolling, FAA-imposed flight delays. https://t.co/L93TyT5Eqi

NEW: FlightAware shows airlines canceled 160 flights to or from Newark Liberty International Airport on Monday. That accounts for more than *a quarter of all U.S. flight cancellations* yesterday. https://t.co/EC0acceSDK

NEWARK TUESDAY UPDATE: The FAA just imposed a new ground delay for flights bound to Newark until midnight EDT. The average delay is two hours and 41 minutes. This is now the *ninth straight day* of staffing shortages at Newark approach control triggering delays. https://t.co/RBk1JzXNoe