Flights at Boston's Logan International Airport ground to a halt for about two hours due to a power outage at a regional air control center  MESSAGE BOARD: Air safety

July 2, 1999
Web posted at: 9:22 p.m. EDT (0122 GMT)

BOSTON (CNN) -- A power outage at a regional radar facility grounded outbound flights from Boston's Logan International Airport on Friday and indefinitely delayed Boston-bound flights from throughout the country, officials said.

The 3:45 p.m. EDT power outage at the Air Route Traffic Control Center in Nashua, New Hampshire, affected traffic at airports throughout New England.

The Federal Aviation Administration began allowing some takeoffs from Logan, using backup radar systems, and international departures from airports in the New York area about two hours after the outage occurred.

But a "national ground stop" remains in effect, meaning no planes bound for Boston can take off until full power is restored, said New York-based FAA spokeswoman Arlene Salac.

Salac would not estimate how many flights could be affected by the action. "It probably will cause some considerable delays, especially with this being a holiday weekend," she said.

In addition to flights grounded at Logan, delays of up to an hour were reported at the three major airports serving the New York City area.

The power outage, which occurred during a thunderstorm, may have been caused by lightning, Salac said.

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