6-minute outage at Denver airport leaves 20 pilots in the lurch in latest terrifying flight snafu

NY Post ^ | 05/15/2025 | Emily Crane

[DFG]

Denver airport’s air traffic control was reportedly struck by a staggering six-minute outage earlier this week after several radio transmitters suddenly went dark.

The frequency outage meant that as many as 20 pilots were unable to reach air traffic controllers as they descended into Denver International Airport on Monday afternoon, ABC7 reported, citing sources.

A controller eventually made contact with one aircraft on a “guard line,” which is typically only used when a pilot is in distress.

That pilot was then able to contact other nearby planes and tell them to switch radio frequencies, the sources said.

At the time of the ordeal, controllers at the Denver Air Route Traffic Control Center were already communicating on a backup frequency after four other frequencies went out of service, according to the one source.

“It’s one thing to lose track of one airplane because you can’t communicate with them, but to lose track of all of the airplanes that you had communication with,” David Riley, a retired air traffic controller, said.

“And from my understanding, in this situation, they still had radar coverage, but that’s like watching a car crash happen and not be able to do anything about it.”

The Denver mishap is just the latest in a spate of air traffic control issues — including repeated outages at the troubled Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey that have sparked mass cancellations.

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.

[dfwgator]

In before “Johnny”

[Red Badger]

AVIATION PING!................

[Red Badger]

AVIATION PING!................

[BenLurkin]

More of the Pete Buttigieg legacy.

[Freee-dame]

Sabotage?

[Responsibility2nd]

DIE.

[Red Badger]

[Larry Lucido]

Sorry! Just kidding!

[crusty old prospector]

And Leo’s getting….larger.

[SkyDancer]

I’ve flown into Denver, real bouncy flight.

[dfwgator]

There’s a sale at Penney’s!

[Cowgirl of Justice]

Intentional.

[Red Badger]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephen_Stucker#Illness_and_death

[Larry Lucido]

I love that there is a young Mike Ehrmantraut as an air traffic controller.

[butlerweave]

Net Zero strikes again

[crusty old prospector]

A hat or a broach or a pterodactyl.

[dfwgator]

Can’t say I’m surprised that would happen.

[Gary from Dayton]

Biden’s first FAA director choice, Phil Washington came from Denver. However, this cannot be his fault, he was the parking lot attendant boss.

[The Louiswu]

There was trouble over Macho Grande