Because the system is built around individual PCs, they will be less vulnerable to mainframe crashes, which have caused problems all around the country. Although the system is considered faster and more reliable than the old technology it is replacing, it is not immune to glitches, such as the one Auburn controllers dealt with on Friday, when a battery failure during a routine check of a backup power supply cut power to the center and the new equipment. Controllers were able to maintain contact with jets with a backup radio system, but the radar that is used to prevent collisions was shut down for 35 minutes. Hundreds of flights were delayed and airline traffic was frozen for an hour. However, there were no reports of planes flying too close together.
Controllers say an advantage of the new system is that it's easier to maintain.
Parts needed for the old system are no longer made. The small plane passed just under the Boeing 737, which had 125 people aboard. He immediately pulled the airplane into a much steeper climb. Doug Murphy, a regional air traffic manager for the FAA, said the Cessna pilot could face discipline ranging from a warning to license suspension. CNN Correspondent Rick Lockridge and the Associated Press contributed to this report.