““And what we realized was that we used an incredibly old, antiquated system technology from the ’60s, ’70s, ’80s and ’90s,” he noted.”

“The National Transportation Safety Board determined that the mid-air collision of the American Airlines passenger plane and an Army Blackhawk helicopter over Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport in January 2025 was due in part to “degraded radio reception” as well as other factors.”

“The FAA also allowed the helicopter’s route to be in too “close proximity” to the runway path — despite collision risk and other data cited by air traffic controllers. “[T]he FAA failed to act on recommendations or available information to mitigate the identified risk,” the 388-page report noted.”

“One voice switch on display had been yanked from an air traffic control tower in Charlottesville, Va., earlier this year after being installed in 1994.”

“It still featured analog push buttons and dials, rather than the touch-screen display of the 5,100 newer models that are being set up for communications.”

“At least 2,400 of those are already on the way to being operational, one official noted.”

“FAA program manager Clarissa Riffe told The Post: “They were using legacy voice-switch, but it wasn’t the voice switches that were the problem — it was the telco.””

“Amy Patel, who serves as air traffic systems director for the FAA, added that paper strips previously used to “manage traffic” at airports will now be seamlessly digitized.”

“Much of the system upgrades are now being done by Peraton, which has partnered with DOT and nabbed nearly $200 million in contracts over the past year, according to federal data.”

“FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford in his remarks hinted at those changes — a “third leg of true modernization” — that could cut time spent taxiing on the runway or waiting at the gate to board flights.”