America’s air traffic control system is blinking red with warning after a midair collision, several harrowing outages, and a staffing shortage. Now Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy is adding to the worries by revealing the Federal Aviation Administration is resorting to using eBay and 3D printers to replace parts for antiquated computer systems.
The secretary told the the Senate Appropriations Committee on Thursday that the technology holding together American airports is so outdated, the federal government does not have reliable suppliers that can replace vital components.
“We do try to buy replacement parts on eBay for this really old equipment,” Duffy told the senators. “Sometimes, we can’t even buy it on eBay, so we’re trying to use 3D printing to craft replacement parts for the system that we use.”
Duffy first drew attention to this ongoing issue last week in an interview with CBS News. He noted the FAA turned to eBay because “we can’t buy parts for new” for the aging equipment.
Because of the worrying state of the nation’s airports, Duffy announced earlier this month an ambitious three-year plan to revamp air traffic control systems with a focus on modernizing communications technology, surveillance systems, and digitization. To do this, the administration will seek “upfront appropriations” from Congress to fund the much-needed updates.
You can read the Transportation Department’s three-year plan below:
Brand New Air Traffic Control System Plan.pdf
The plan emphasizes fast-paced modernization was necessary because risks increased the longer the U.S. remained reliant on the aging systems, especially at a time when air traffic is increasing and spaceflight is making a comeback.
Hellbound and Down 