A pickup truck hit a power pole near LA Center Tuesday, resulting in loss of power at the ARTCC. Apparently, the backup generators came on, as advertised, but after an hour or so a switch failed and the Center went dark.
http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercu...a/15076719.htm
Because the ARTCC went down, the USAF delayed a missile test at Vandenburg...
http://www.kesq.com/Global/story.asp?S=5168528&nav=9qrx
Here's the NATCA (ATC Union) press release on the event...
http://www.natca.org/mediacenter/pre...il.aspx?id=394
Predictably, the FAA and NATCA line up as follows:
FAA: "Safety was not compromised."
NATCA: ""...absolutely the worst scenario you can think of."
To both I say, "Hyperbole. Safety
was compromised, but I can think of scenarios worse than this one."
