LAX Blackout

[smirkymonkey]

I did a search to see if any info on this has been posted, but didn't find anything. Here is the link:

http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/state/20040412-1555-ca-airportblackout.html

3:55 p.m. April 12, 2004

LOS ANGELES – A power failure apparently caused by a bird on a power line shut down the Los Angeles International Airport tower and disrupted air traffic Monday morning, authorities said.

Eighty to 100 Los Angeles-bound flights were affected, either having to stay airborne or on the ground at other airports, with delays ranging from 15 minutes to 90 minutes, Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Donn Walker said.

A BIRD ON A POWER LINE?? There was also a blackout at the Bellagio in Las Vegas and while I am sure the two were unrelated, I reached for my tinfoil hat. I was never really satisfied by the explainations for the worldwide power shortages this summer. The excuse for the LAX blackout and the summer blackouts were too much like "choked on a pretzel" imo. Has anyone heard anything about this from someone who experienced it?

[Ready4Change]

1. Heard about this on the news.

Also did some computer work long ago for some FAA people who administered equipment installations for ATC towers and other facilities.

They have automatic backup power supplies for towers that kick in if outside power cuts off. They were generally designed to kick in without interruption, but it was understood that things in the real world often don't work as planned.

Such power losses aren't unheard of, allthough the stress levels in ATC workers go out the roofs. One guy in a tower managed to keep control of all the planes going in and out of (Ohara I think) for a 45 minute power loss once. He'd been doing the job so long that the radar screens were just a backup for his mental picture of where everything was.

Sure a one minute outage is an opportunity for something bad to happen. But that's also why there's redundacies built in. The tower has multiple communication methods, the pilots and airliners are supposed to operate with reserve amounts of fuel incase they get delayed, and plan in advance for diversions to alternate airports should things go awry.

Now, the repeated refinery fires? That's got me putting on my :tinfoilhat: .