Concerns about the FAA’s air traffic control system date back decades
J. David Ake/Getty Images
(WASHINGTON) — Federal watchdogs have raised concerns about the Federal Aviation Administration’s air traffic control system for decades, an ABC News analysis of government reports found.
In the weeks since the fatal plane crash over the Potomac River near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, DOT Secretary Sean Duffy said the FAA is hoping to deploy a “brand-new air traffic control system” within the next four years.
“This should have happened four years ago, 10 years ago, 15 years ago,” Duffy said. “Right now, we’re at a point where we can actually do it, and we can do it really fast again.”
Red flags regarding the FAA’s handling of air traffic control matters have spanned Republican and Democratic administrations for more than 30 years.
In 1990, Government Accountability Office Transportation Issues Director Kenneth Mead told a congressional subcommittee that although the FAA had made progress, the agency had “inexperience in developing large-scale, highly automated systems” and was “still experiencing problems in modernizing the ATC system.”
“In light of the tremendous levels of F&E [facilities and equipment] funding projected for the next few years, it is crucial that FAA show[s] the Congress, the aviation community, and the flying public that ongoing and future activities will result in demonstrable improvements,” Mead added at the time.
The modifications may have been easier said than done.
“Planned improvements in safety and capacity have been delayed, and the costs, both of maintaining existing technologies and of replacing outdated ATC systems and infrastructure, have grown,” a 2005 GAO panel found, noting that cultural, technical and budgetary factors constrained or impeded ATC modernization.
“FAA no longer sees its modernization program as a multiyear initiative with a defined end; rather, it now sees the program as an ongoing investment in technological advances designed to improve aviation safety and capacity,” the panel explained.
The Office of Inspector General at the U.S. Department of Transportation, which conducts investigations at DOT divisions such as the FAA, the Federal Railroad Administration and the Federal Transit Administration, took a deep dive into the FAA’s handling of ATC matters multiple times.
Inspector general reports in 2008 and 2012 found that the physical conditions of many ATC facilities were deteriorating, with issues ranging from “poor facility design” to water leaks and ventilation problems.
The 2008 IG report mentioned that the FAA was expected to finish implementing its Next Generation Air Transportation System, or NextGen, by 2025. The GAO posted on its website earlier this month that there was “mixed progress” with NextGen’s implementation.
As the years went on, the investigations into the FAA continued.
In 2015, the IG included the tower at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport on its list of “frequently least efficient” large hub airport towers.
Less than two years later, the IG recognized some improvements made by the FAA to its contingency plans, but found that their ATC facilities “are not yet fully prepared to respond effectively to major system disruptions, in part because of a lack of necessary controller training for these types of emergency events.”
By 2023, concerns over staffing at FAA ATC centers were making headlines.
“FAA has made limited efforts to ensure adequate controller staffing at critical air traffic control facilities,” the IG found at the time, pointing out that the FAA’s Washington Center was authorized to have 21 traffic management coordinators but instead had 13, while the facility was authorized to have 36 operational supervisors but instead had 25.
One of the final federal investigative reports prior to the fatal collision over the Potomac came in September 2024. The GAO made seven recommendations to the FAA, including calling on the agency to report to Congress on how it was handling risks involving “unsustainable and critical systems.”
The FAA “has been slow to modernize the most critical and at-risk systems,” the GAO said at the time. “About one third of FAA ATC systems are considered unsustainable.”
ABC News’ Josh Margolin, Sam Sweeney and Ayesha Ali contributed to this report.
(WASHINGTON) — President Joe Biden, President-elect Donald Trump, former presidents and other dignitaries came together Thursday to honor the life of former President Jimmy Carter at a state funeral at Washington National Cathedral in Washington, D.C.
Grandson Jason Carter and Biden were among those who delivered eulogies for the 39th president, who died on Dec. 29 at the age of 100.
Carter to return to Plains
Former President Jimmy Carter’s casket was carried out of Washington National Cathedral to the strains of “Hail to the Chief” at the conclusion of the service.
Next, the hearse will drive to Joint Base Andrews in Maryland. The casket will be placed on a plane to return to Carter’s hometown of Plains, Georgia, for a private service.
The 39th president, who died on Dec. 29 at age 100, will be buried in Plains next to his beloved wife of 77 years, Rosalynn, who died on Nov. 19, 2023, at the age of 96.
‘Your spirit will remain with us’
“I don’t mean this with any disrespect, but, it’s still hard for me to understand how you could get to be president from Plains, Georgia,” said former U.N. Ambassador Andrew Young, prompting a big laugh from the crowd in the cathedral.
Young, 92, was appointed to be U.N. Ambassador by Carter and was the first Black person to hold the position.
Young recalled how Carter grew up in a mostly Black county and had many Black friends. He said Carter asked that his roommate at the Naval Academy be the first Black midshipmen in hopes that he could help him adjust.
Carter “went out of his way to embrace those of us who had grown up in all kinds of conflict,” Young said. “But that was the sensitivity, the spirituality that made James Earl Carter a truly great president.”
“He never wavered from his commitment to God almighty and his love of all of God’s children,” Young said. “Jimmy Carter was a blessing that helped to create a great United Staes of America. And for all of us, and many who are not able to be here, I want to say, thank you. You have been a blessing from God and your spirit will remain with us.”
Biden recalls Carter’s ‘strength of character’
After wiping his eyes during “Amazing Grace,” President Joe Biden stepped up to the podium to recall his friendship with former President Jimmy Carter.
“Jimmy Carter’s friendship taught me … strength of character is more than the title or power we hold. It’s the strength to understand that everyone should be treated with dignity, respect. That everyone — and I mean everyone deserves an even shot,” Biden said.
“We have an obligation to give hate no safe harbor and to stand up to — [what] my dad said, the greatest sin of all — the abuse of power,” Biden said, as all of the former presidents looked on. “It’s not about being perfect, none of us are perfect. We’re all fallible.”
“Jimmy Carter, throughout his life, he showed us what it means to be a practitioner of good works and a good and faithful servant of God, and of the people,” Biden said.
Some may think Carter is from a “bygone era,” but Carter “saw well into the future,” Biden said.
To anyone in search of meaning and purpose, Biden said, “study the power of Jimmy Carter’s example.”
“I miss him, but I take solace in knowing that he and his beloved Rosalynn are reunited again,” he said.
Grandson calls Carter ‘definition of integrity’
Former President Jimmy Carter’s house was filled with items like so many other southern grandparents’: fishing trophies, a phone with a landline and a fridge covered with photos of grandchildren and great-grandchildren, his grandson Jason Carter said.
“And demonstrating their Depression-era roots, they had a little rack next to the sink where they would hang Ziploc bags to dry,” Jason Carter said, as the crowd laughed.
“In my 49 years, I never perceived a difference between his public face and his private one. He was the same person,” Jason Carter said. “For me, that’s the definition of integrity.”
“His political life and his presidency, for me, was not just ahead of its time — it was prophetic. He had the courage and strength to stick to his principles, even when they were politically unpopular,” Jason Carter said. “As governor of Georgia half a century ago, he preached an end to racial discrimination and an end to mass incarceration. As president in the 1970s, as you’ve heard, he protected more land than any other president in history. Fifty years ago, he was a climate warrior who pushed for a world where we conserved energy, limited emissions and traded our reliance on fossil fuels for expanded renewable sources.”
President Carter’s beloved wife of 77 years, Rosalynn, died on Nov. 19, 2023, at the age of 96.
Jason Carter said that, in recent weeks, his grandfather “told us he was ready to see her again.”
‘Unshakable sense of right and wrong’
Stuart Eizenstat, who was former President Jimmy Carter’s chief domestic policy adviser, praised Carter’s “unshakable sense of right and wrong.”
“His faith brought integrity to the presidency after Watergate and Vietnam,” Eizenstat recalled. “‘I will never lie to you,’ he promised the American people — a vow he fulfilled.”
Carter is known for his deep faith, and Eizenstat noted how Carter’s “faith respected other religions — he was the first president to light a Hanukkah menorah and he created the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum.”
“This president from the deepest part of the Deep South championed civil rights, appointing more people of color and women to senior executive positions and judgeships than all previous 38 presidents,” he said.
“President Carter parked politics at the Oval Office door, to do what he believed was the right thing — tackling controversial challenges regardless of the political consequences. Much of his agenda passed with bipartisan support, a quaint notion in today’s hyper-polarized politics,” Eizenstat said.
Walter Mondale’s son delivers his father’s eulogy
Former President Jimmy Carter’s vice president, Walter Mondale, left behind a eulogy for Carter before he died in 2021.
Mondale’s son, Ted Mondale, delivered that eulogy at Thursday’s service.
The two became close friends and established a person relationship that continued throughout their life, Walter Mondale said.
“While we had only four years in the White House, he achieved so much in that time,” Walter Mondale wrote. “It stood as a marker for Americans dedicated to justice and decency.”
“Carter was far-sighted — he put aside his short-term political interests to tackle challenges that demanded sacrifice to protect our kids and grandkids from future harm,” he wrote. “Very few people in the 1970s had heard the term climate change. Yet Carter put his presidency on the line to pass laws to conserve energy, deregulate new oil and gas prices, and invest in clean, renewable alternatives to fossil fuels. … In many ways, he laid the foundation for future presidents to come to grips with climate change.”
“All of us know President Carter elevated human rights to the top of his agenda, but sometimes we forget how seriously he pushed to advance the rights of women. He proposed and signed the law extending the period for states to approve the Equal Rights Amendment, which now, finally, has been ratified by three quarters of the states,” he wrote.
“Toward the end of our time in the White House, the President and I were talking about how we might describe what we tried to do,” Walter Mondale wrote. “We came up with this sentence, which to me remains an important summary of what we were trying to do: ‘We told the truth, we obeyed the law and we kept the peace.'”
President Ford’s son delivers his father’s eulogy
Former President Gerald Ford, who lost the 1976 election to former President Jimmy Carter, later forged a friendship with Carter, and the two agreed to leave eulogies for each other.
Ford died in 2006 at the age of 93.
Ford’s son Steven Ford, read his father’s eulogy at Carter’s service.
But first, Steven Ford shared his own message, saying he is praying for the Carter children. It was 18 years ago, nearly to the day, Steven Ford said, that his family sat in that same row at the cathedral and the Carters supported his family.
“It was your dad and his great faith that supported my mom and gave her hope,” he said to the Carter children.
President Ford said in the eulogy he left for Carter, “Jimmy and I forged a friendship that transcends politics. We immediately decided to exercise one of the privileges of a former president, forgetting that either one of us had ever said any harsh words about the other one in the heat of battle. Then we got on to much more enjoyable subjects: discussing our families, our faith and sharing our experiences in discovering that there is indeed life after the White House.”
“The American people and the people of the world will be forever blessed by his decades of good works,” President Ford wrote.
To President Carter, President Ford said, “Looking forward to our reunion — we have much to catch up on.”
Carter’s grandson remembers his Sunday school lessons
At the service, former President Jimmy Carter’s grandson Josh Carter recalled his grandfather’s weekly packed Sunday school classes in Plains, Georgia.
He said his grandfather would always poll the congregation and learn people came from all over the country, with diverse backgrounds and beliefs.
“If he stopped a conflict, he talked about it. If he eliminated disease from a village or a country, he would talk about it,” Josh Carter said. “When my brother Jeremy died, he announced that news at Sunday school. In fact, I remember that my brother died on a Sunday because it was the only time my grandfather was ever late to teach.”
“He stated the most serious and universal problem on our planet is the growing chasm between the richest and poorest people on Earth,” he said. “For the next two decades, as the problem compounded, he returned to this theme with stories from the Bible and stories from today.”
“Many of the people that my grandparents helped lived on less than $1 a day,” he said. “My grandfather spent the entire time I’ve known him helping those in need. He built houses for people that needed homes. He eliminated diseases. … He waged peace. … He loved people.”
Harris, Biden arrive
Vice President Kamala Harris and second gentleman Doug Emhoff are seated in front of President-elect Donald Trump.
The two did not appear to interact.
President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden are also at the cathedral.
Clintons, Bushes arrive
Former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton are sitting next to former President George W. Bush and former first lady Laura Bush.
Laura Bush sat next to former President Barack Obama, who continued a lengthy conversation with President-elect Donald Trump.
Obama arrives, speaks with Trump
Former President Barack Obama arrived at the service and exchanged a long handshake and a laugh with former Vice President Al Gore.
Obama then sat directly next to Trump and the two exchanged words, both smiling.
Trump arrives, greets Pence
President-elect Donald Trump and Melania Trump have arrived at the service.
Trump shook hands and exchanged brief words with his former Vice President Mike Pence.
Hearse arrives at Washington National Cathedral
Former President Jimmy Carter’s hearse has arrived at Washington National Cathedral for the 10 a.m. service.
Mike Pence, Al Gore arrive at service
Former Vice Presidents Al Gore and Mike Pence have arrived at Washington National Cathedral for the 10 a.m. service.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Vice President-elect JD Vance were also seen at the service.
Carter’s casket leaves US Capitol for final time
Former President Jimmy Carter’s casket has left the U.S. Capitol for the final time. Carter had been lying in state at the Capitol since Tuesday.
His motorcade will now head to Washington National Cathedral for a 10 a.m. service.
An emotional, weeklong goodbye
The emotional, weeklong public goodbye to former President Jimmy Carter began on Saturday when a motorcade carried his remains from his hometown of Plains, Georgia, to Atlanta.
Family, friends and employees of the Carter Presidential Center congregated at the center in Atlanta for a Saturday afternoon ceremony. Carter’s son Chip Carter addressed the mourners and thanked his late parents for their service and sacrifice.
The public was then invited to pay their respects at the Carter Presidential Center from Saturday through Tuesday.
On Tuesday, Carter’s body was transported Washington, D.C., and a service was held at the Capitol. Carter lied in state at the Capitol on Wednesday.
On Thursday afternoon, following the Washington National Cathedral funeral, Carter will return to his hometown of Plains for a private service and private interment.
Motorcade makes emotional stop at Navy Memorial Former President Jimmy Carter’s motorcade made an emotional stop at the U.S. Navy Memorial in Washington, D.C., to honor Carter’s service as a lieutenant in the Navy.
Carter’s childhood dream was to be in the Navy and he went on to graduate from the United States Naval Academy in 1946. Carter resigned from the Navy in 1953 after his father’s death so he could return to the family farm.
Carter’s casket was transferred from the hearse to a horse-drawn military caisson for a funeral procession that reproduces the walk Carter took with his family on the day of his inauguration. On that January day in 1977, Carter walked the mile-and-a-half inaugural parade route to the White House, rather than ride in a limousine, bringing a common touch to his presidency.
Navy officers stood silently along the snow-lined street, witnessing the casket’s transfer to the caisson.
The Carter family will walk behind the casket as it heads from the U.S. Navy Memorial to the U.S. Capitol.
Motorcade leaves Joint Base Andrews
Former President Jimmy Carter’s motorcade has left Joint Base Andrews in Maryland en route to Washington, D.C., to begin several days of services in the nation’s capital.
Carter lands in DC
A plane carrying the Carter family and the casket of former President Jimmy Carter has landed at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland for several days of ceremonies in Washington, D.C.
The U.S. Navy Memorial will be the first stop for the motorcade to honor Carter’s service as a lieutenant in the Navy.
Carter en route from Georgia to DC
The Carter family is accompanying former President Jimmy Carter’s remains on a flight from Georgia’s Dobbins Air Reserve Base to Washington, D.C. for the late president’s final journey to the nation’s capital.
“Hail to the Chief” was played and troops fired a 21-gun salute after the coffin was taken out of the hearse. Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp was among the officials at the base to witness the coffin’s transfer from the hearse to the plane.
Carter is survived by four children — John William (Jack), James Earl III (Chip), Donnel Jeffrey (Jeff) and Amy Lynn — and many grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
The flight will land in the D.C. area around 2 p.m.
The late president’s first stop in snowy D.C. will be the U.S. Navy Memorial to honor his time in the service.
That will be followed by a 4:30 p.m. ET service at the U.S. Capitol, which will be
Carter leaves Carter Presidential Center for final time
Former President Jimmy Carter is leaving the Carter Presidential Center in Atlanta for the final time Tuesday morning as Carter Center employees and their families look on.
The former president had been lying in repose at the center since Saturday, allowing the public to come pay their respects.
At a Saturday service at the Carter Presidential Center, Carter’s son Chip Carter thanked his parents for their service and sacrifice.
“The two of them together changed the world,” he said, overcome with emotion.
Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter founded the Carter Center after his presidency to improve health around the world and enhance freedom and democracy.
Carter to head to DC for services at Capitol, Washington National Cathedral
Former President Jimmy Carter’s remains will be escorted from the Carter Presidential Center in Atlanta to Washington, D.C., on Tuesday for the 39th president’s final trip to the nation’s capital.
His remains will leave the Carter Center at 11:30 a.m. ET.
The first stop in D.C. will be the U.S. Navy Memorial in honor of the former president’s service.
At 4:30 p.m. ET, members of Congress, the Supreme Court, the Cabinet, the Joint Chiefs and other officials will congregate at the U.S. Capitol for a lying in state ceremony. Vice President Kamala Harris, Senator Majority Leader John Thune and House Speaker Mike Johnson are expected to deliver eulogies and lay wreaths.
Carter’s remains will lie in state at the Capitol from Tuesday evening to Thursday morning, allowing the public to pay respects.
On Thursday morning, former presidents and other dignitaries will attend a state funeral at Washington National Cathedral. President Joe Biden will deliver a eulogy.
On Thursday afternoon, Carter’s body will return to his hometown of Plains, Georgia, for a private service and private interment. Carter will be buried next to his wife of 77 years, Rosalynn, who died on Nov. 19, 2023, at the age of 96.
(NEW YORK) — The wing of a Delta plane struck the runway as it was coming in for a landing at LaGuardia Airport on Sunday evening, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.
At approximately 10:10 p.m. on Sunday, the plane’s “left wing struck the runway while landing” and the pilots then “executed a go-around,” according to the FAA.
A go-around is a safe, routine maneuver where the pilot discontinues the landing approach and returns the aircraft to an altitude to safely make another landing attempt.
The plane, a CRJ-900 aircraft, was traveling on its regularly scheduled service from Jacksonville, Florida, to New York City, according to Delta.
On air traffic control audio, the controller told the pilot, “Somebody saw some sparks from one of your wings, you guys feel anything?” The pilot responded, “We didn’t, but we’ll check it.”
The flight was operated by Endeavor, the same regional carrier as the Delta plane that crashed while landing in while landing in Toronto in February. The plane in that incident was also a CRJ-900.
The 76 passengers, two pilots and two flight attendants on board Flight 4814 were unharmed, with no injuries reported, according to the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which oversees the three major New York City area airports.
“We apologize to our customers for the experience,” Delta said in a statement.
The airline said the plane has been taken out of service while maintenance teams evaluate and did not indicate when the aircraft will return to flying.
The incident also did not cause an impact to airport operations, according to the Port Authority.
The FAA is continuing to investigate the situation.
(WASHINGTON) — A former CIA analyst arrested in November and charged with leaking highly classified records showing Israeli plans to launch a retaliatory strike on Iran pleaded guilty Friday in a federal court in Virginia.
Asif Rahman, 34, pleaded guilty to two counts of transmission of national defense information, according to court records.
Rahman faces up to 10 years in prison for the first count and up to three years for the second count. His sentencing was set for May 15.
Rahman admitted to accessing and printing out two documents regarding Israel’s retaliatory strike plans on Oct. 17 and transporting them to his residence, where he later uploaded images of them and provided them to “multiple individuals he knew were not entitled to receive them,” according to the plea agreement.
He later took various steps to try and conceal his involvement in the leak, even as authorities were able to track him down remarkably quickly given he was the only individual found to have printed out the documents, according to logs reviewed by investigators.
Rahman was arrested in Cambodia and later brought to Guam, according to the charging documents.
Rahman, a U.S. citizen, worked as an employee for the CIA starting in 2016.
In the days after the disclosure, Rahman deleted “approximately 1.5 gigabytes” of data from his personal folder in the Top Secret system, including scores of highly classified materials he had downloaded over the years — largely relating to the Middle East, according to prosecutors.
