HIGHFILL -- Incoming flights were diverted from landing at Northwest Arkansas Regional Airport on Thursday morning after the FAA shut off the airport's instrument landing approach system without notice, according to airport officials.
"People could leave, they just couldn't land so we had a couple hours where we had diversions and cancellations," said Kelly Johnson, airport director. "It's unfortunate that it affected probably over 600 people."
Once it was known there was an issue, incoming flights weren't able to land and were sent to other airports including Fort Smith, Tulsa, Okla., Springfield, Mo., and Oklahoma City, according to Johnson. Those passengers were bused from those cities to Northwest Arkansas.
Other flights were delayed or cancelled, Johnson said. The diverted flights originated in Dallas, Atlanta, Denver, Minnesota, New York, Houston and Chicago, Johnson said.
"We don't know exactly what went on yet. We're still trying to figure it out," Johnson said Thursday afternoon. "The FAA is looking into what happened, it obviously happened on their end. The worst part is they cancelled all the approaches and didn't tell anybody."
A new instrument approach was scheduled to be activated Thursday morning, Johnson said. Equipment was moved and checked out for one approach late last year after the main runway was reconstructed. Equipment for the second approach was then moved and had been flight checked by the FAA. The second approach was scheduled to go back into use as a full instrument landing system Thursday morning, but instead all approaches were closed.
Johnson said the tower opened about 5:30 a.m. and there was no indication of a problem with the instrument approaches from the FAA. An incoming flight about 9:30 a.m. notified the tower the instrument approaches were out of service.
"From about 9:40 (a.m.) until 12:30 (p.m.) they could take off but they really couldn't land," Johnson said. "About 12:30 they came up with an approach."
By early afternoon the FAA sent airport officials an explanation that the problem was connected to required flight checks.
NW News on 01/06/2017