LOS ANGELES (AP) -- The failure of the primary air traffic control system around Los Angeles last week happened because electronic data from a single plane's flight plan confused the system's software, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.
When that system failed, a backup helped safely guide flights already in the air, but hundreds of planes across the nation headed for Southern California were ordered not to take off Wednesday as an air traffic control facility north of Los Angeles effectively rebooted.
The Pentagon confirmed Monday that an Air Force U-2 spy plane was conducting training operations in the area. It is not unusual for a U-2 to operate in the region, and the necessary flight plan had been submitted for the high-flying plane, Col. Steve Warren said.
FAA spokesman Lynn Lunsford would not specify whether the flight plan that caused the issue was that of the U-2.
"It was an individual flight plan and the issue had to do with the way it was coded," he said.
Since the incident, the FAA has been analyzing what went wrong with its En Route Automation Modernization system. The computer system, known as ERAM, allows air traffic controllers at several dozen "en route centers" around the country to identify and direct planes at high altitudes.
