Static and lost Tracon frequencies precede Friday's nationwide ground stop

ACARS messages show parking squeeze, airline shutdown and soonish end

Communications problems started to crop up before the ground stop, with pilots and controllers reporting static and transmission issues in the airspace near Chicago, Indianapolis and elsewhere, according to The Wall Street Journal’s account.

“Are you hearing a crackling sound on the frequency?” came one query. “Yeah, we hear that static. We thought that there was a stuck mic whenever we initially got on, so we went back to departure,” came the reply.

As communication problems proliferated, controllers appeared to be halting traffic in their respective airports and airspaces. One exchange captured a controller and pilot talking past each other.

“OK, did you hear me calling you? Because I’m having frequency issues right now,” the controller said. “No, neither one of us did hear you. I’m sorry about that,” the pilot answered.

One noted problems at a facility known as a Tracon, or Terminal Radar Approach Control. “All departures that are on frequency, we cannot depart anyone. The Tracon lost all frequencies, so no one will be departing at this time due to the Tracon,” a controller told traffic.

The FAA then issued a nationwide ground stop, halting departures across the country. “The ground stop is now a nationwide ground stop for all centers, all destinations until further notice due to widespread frequency outages,” the announcement read.

With flights no longer taking off, airports started to fill up. Some inbound flights had to divert elsewhere in order to find open gates and parking. Messages between airline control rooms and cockpits, known as ACARS messages, describe the challenge. “NO MORE PARKING AT SAN GOING TO NEED ALT ONT OR LAX MAYBE,” read an ACARS message tagged to American Airlines Flight 2438. An ACARS message tagged to American Airlines Flight 0358 read: “YO YO YO WHATUP BIGDOG ANY UPDATES ON ATC GND STOPS/COMM FAILURE.”

As the grounding dragged on, airlines began to wind down operations for the night. “GOT WORD FROM MANAGEMENT THE AIRLINE IS SHUTTING DOWN FOR THE NIGHT HAVE EVERYONE OFF THE AIRCRAFT IF YOU HAVE NOT YET DONE SO. EXPECT CANCELLATIONS TO COME THROUGH OVER THE NEXT HOUR,” an ACARS message sent to American Eagle flights operated by Envoy read.

The ground stop was lifted. But with more than 35% of Friday’s flights canceled, planes, pilots and crew members were out of place, and many pilots and flight attendants had hit the limits on how long they can work, leaving airlines with the complex task of reassembling their operations. One ACARS message sent to United Airlines Flight 659 read: “NOT SURE IF YOU ARE STILL WITH ME, BUT I HAVE GOOD NEWS. THE GROUND STOP IS PROJECTED TO END SOONISH. PREVIOUSLY THE FAA SAID IT WOULD BE A CONTROLLED AND METERED RELEASE. I EXPECT THIS TO BE A VERY SLUGGISH START TO FLYING. BUT THERE IS HOPE.”

The Wall Street Journal described the halt, taken in response to disruptions in air-traffic control telecommunications, as an extraordinary step and the most severe nationwide ground stop since the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, one that threw airports into chaos, stranded tens of thousands of travelers and snarled travel through the weekend.

The Journal laid out how the four-hourlong saga unfolded through pilot-controller radio exchanges and airline cockpit messages, an episode that showed the fragility of America’s air-traffic control infrastructure.