Newly released audio captures the moment air traffic controllers at one of New York’s busiest airports lost contact with incoming planes — with one pilot heard urgently repeating, “Approach, are you there?”
No answer. The pilot tried again. Nothing. He called out six times before finally hearing back: “I got you loud and clear.”
During that sliver of time, one of the busiest airspaces in the United States went effectively blind.
No radar. No radio.
According to air traffic controllers working that shift, it was like a “cone of silence” descended. “Everything went down, we lost all radios! No backups!”
The near-disaster didn’t end in tragedy. But make no mistake: it was a close call.
And it wasn’t the first.
Controllers say there have been multiple full communication breakdowns since August, and 8 to 9 separate incidents where radio contact alone failed.
A System Held Together by Copper Wires
How is it that the richest country in the world is running its air traffic system on tech that, quite literally, includes failing copper wires?
How is it that, in 2025, air traffic controllers can lose contact with pilots and have no working backups?
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has long admitted that the system is outdated.
A $2.4 billion contract with Verizon to replace these copper lines with fiber-optic cables was signed during the Biden administration, but the overhaul is in its early stages.
Meanwhile, tens of thousands of commercial flights each day rely on this fragile patchwork of infrastructure, operated by a workforce that is understaffed, overworked, and burned out.
The Human Cost of System Failure: Trauma and Travel Chaos at Newark
The April 28 incident had immediate operational and personal consequences.
According to reports, at least four experienced air traffic controllers and one trainee went on trauma leave after the communication breakdown. With staffing already stretched thin, replacing them proved difficult.
Training a new controller takes more than a year and includes classroom instruction, simulations, and on-site certification.
With several staff out and no quick replacements available, the FAA was forced to reduce incoming traffic to Newark Liberty International Airport.
Flight delays and cancellations followed. United Airlines cut 35 daily flights from its Newark schedule.
Travelers faced disruptions that lasted more than a week, but the situation inside the tower was even more strained.
One controller explained that while the team remained composed during the event, the seriousness of what had occurred became clearer afterward.
“While it was happening, we were calm,” the controller said. “But later, when we realized just how close it was to going wrong… it was terrifying.”
The Trump Administration’s Big-Promise Fix: Bold Vision or Budget Illusion?
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy hit the airwaves with a promise: a sweeping new plan to pour “tens of billions” into America’s air traffic infrastructure.
President Trump has signed off. The plan will be unveiled today Thursday.
Duffy says it won’t take a decade to fix the system. “It’s not going to take 10 years, like [former Secretary] Pete Buttigieg suggested,” he boasted on CNN.
Instead, this administration wants to move fast. But there’s a problem: Congress has only committed $12.5 billion so far, less than half of what insiders estimate is needed.
Lawmakers already slashed $2 billion from the original proposal by removing plans to replace aging radar and consolidate key facilities.
Worse still, the Trump administration is simultaneously making cuts across the federal government, including the FAA.
Union leaders warn that support staff have already been terminated, adding even more pressure to the already stressed-out controllers who remain.
The Political Dogfight: Blame, Deflection, and a Workforce Under Pressure
Democrats are blasting the Trump administration for pursuing layoffs while pitching mega-projects with unclear timelines and shaky budgets.
Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) warned that FAA support cuts are putting “additional strain on an already stressed workforce.” Governor Phil Murphy offered to collaborate, but stressed the crisis has been building for years.
Former Secretary Pete Buttigieg, in a rare jab, said the Trump team is ignoring the slow, gritty reality of modernizing infrastructure. “You can’t just swap out copper wire overnight,” he said. “We hated the tech we inherited, but we launched a plan. These things take time.”
He’s not wrong. The FAA’s NextGen modernization plan has been underway since 2003, and even now, radar-to-satellite transitions are incomplete.
Why Newark Has Become the Epicenter of America’s Air Travel Crisis
Newark Liberty International Airport has become the poster child for all that ails U.S. air travel. It’s a hub with constant delays and cancellations, even before the recent breakdowns.
The decision to move control of its airspace from Long Island to Philadelphia TRACON was meant to help — but it ended up stretching resources even thinner.
Controllers say they never got the staffing levels they were promised. Now, with several out on medical leave and others working overtime, the system is hanging by a thread.
What Happens Next?
Duffy’s plan is set to be announced this week.
Will it include concrete solutions or just sweeping rhetoric? Will it fund the full overhaul or pass the buck to tech billionaires? Will Congress come through with real money, or will partisan gridlock leave the skies vulnerable again?
What we know is this: pilots are still calling “Approach, are you there?” and praying for an answer.
Air travel in America is built on trust — that someone is watching, guiding, coordinating, and protecting every plane in the sky. That trust is cracking.
