Computer glitch causes plane delays

0 Comments | USA TODAY, August, 2008 | by Alan Levin

A computer system that tracks aircraft flight plans failed Tuesday, triggering hundreds of flight delays across the East and the Midwest.

It's unclear why the system failed. Officials said Tuesday night that they are investigating the cause.

Flights at large hubs such as Chicago's O'Hare and Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson were delayed 90 minutes or longer while Federal Aviation Administration employees manually entered flight data into computers, FAA spokeswoman Laura Brown said.

The systems that follow planes on radar and allow controllers to communicate with pilots operated normally and no flights were endangered during the failure, Brown said.

The agency estimated on Tuesday evening that hundreds of flights had been delayed by the...