Minneapolis
- "MSP airport getting new ground tracking system" - Star Tribune - Nov. 3, 2005 - Circulation: 375,000
- "Ground radar urged for airports; Controllers say new runway's opening makes it necessary" - Pioneer Press - Nov. 3, 2005 - Circulation: 189,899
- "FAA says Twin Cities airport to get new ground radar system" - AP - Nov. 3, 2005
Television
- FOX - Estimated Audience: 334,185 - Oct. 13, Nov. 2 and 3, 2005
- ABC - Estimated Audience: 364,316 - Oct. 12 and 13, 2005
- NBC - Estimated Audience: 191,436 - Nov. 2, 2005
- CBS - Estimated Audience: 185,004 - Nov. 2, 2005
- TOTAL ESTIMATED AUDIENCE COVERAGE: 1,074,941
Minneapolis Star: MSP airport getting new ground tracking system
Thursday, November 03, 2005
The Star-Tribune reports, "Talk about results: An hour after air-traffic controllers in seven cities Wednesday called for a better system for monitoring airplane movement on the ground and in rain or snow, the Federal Aviation Administration announced Wednesday that it would put one in place at 15 airports, including Minneapolis-St. Paul...The existing Aircraft Movement Area Safety System depends on radar, which loses some of its capability in rain or snow -- the very conditions under which controllers need to rely on equipment to monitor all runways and taxiways. 'If the precipitation is bad enough, the screen is whited out,' Alexander said of the current equipment. 'It's a known fault of the system.'"
Associated Press State & Local Wire: FAA says Twin Cities airport to get new ground radar system
Friday, November 04, 2005
The Associated Press reports, "The Federal Aviation Administration said it plans to build a new ground radar system at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport, designed to keep airplanes from colliding on the ground...The FAA made the announcement, which it said was already planned, after the air traffic controllers union said the system was needed here, especially after a new runway opened last month...'The opportunities to have something go wrong have increased significantly,' said Bruce Alexander, president of the local chapter of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association. 'The solution is to deploy technology that allows us to 'see' planes (on the ground) all the time.'"
Thursday, November 03, 2005
The Pioneer Press reports, "The Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport lacks ground radar that can help keep planes apart in heavy rain and snowstorms. And that technology shortcoming became more of a problem with the opening of a third runway last month, the air traffic controllers' union laments. On Wednesday, the union called on the Federal Aviation Administration to speed up deployment of a more advanced ground radar system at the nation's airports. Even in heavy storms, it would reliably provide warnings of impending runway collisions. The FAA responded 90 minutes later by stating its intentions to build the systems at several major airports - including the Twin Cities - saying the union's actions prompted it to move ahead a planned announcement...