US to ground some planes on West Coast ‘as a precaution’ after a North Korean missile launch – Orange County Register

Several pilots made an unusual ground stop for a short period of time after North American Aerospace Defense Command warned of a possible launch. North Korean Missiles, a US official said on Tuesday.

The official said it is not a national ground stop and may have been issued by a regional air traffic control facility.

“No warning has been issued by NORAD Command,” said Captain Pamela Kunze, chief NORAD spokesperson, about the potential threat to the United States.

The Federal Aviation Administration, which is responsible for the nation’s air traffic control system, said stopping the plane was a safety mistake.

“As a precaution, the FAA suspended departures at a number of airports along the West Coast on Monday evening,” the FAA said in a statement. “All operations resumed in less than 15 minutes. The FAA regularly takes precautions. We are looking at the process around this ground stop as we did after all such events. “

A NORAD spokesman said the normal sequence after the launch was followed: The missile launch was detected and it was assessed not to pose a threat to the continental United States. Standard practice is for the FAA to be in constant communication at the NORAD operations center, so will be aware of the expedited assessment.

Burbank Airport’s LiveATC air traffic control logs detail one controller telling a Southwest flight that “now there are stops on the ground for all departures, all departures.” airport. The message we receive is until further notice. “

Nerissa Sugars, a spokeswoman for Burbank Airport said: “We received an order to stop on the ground around 2:30pm. “And it lasted less than 15 minutes.”

According to Sugars, because the stop was so short, it did not affect operations, except for some minor flight delays. The FAA did not give a reason for the ground stop order at the time, which is common practice, Sugars said.

Another control tower frequency recording in Hillsboro, Oregon, shows the operator speaking to the pilot of a landing Cessna, saying “we just received a notification that we need to make a move. national ground stop”.

A spokesman for San Diego International Airport told CNN that the airport “was instructed by Air Traffic Control that there was a stopover on national ground but shortly after (5-7 minutes), the group Our operation is informed that it has been lifted.”

Other West Coast airports contacted by CNN said they were not aware of the order.

It is not clear why the ground stop order was made as a statement from US Forces Korea said the test posed no threat to US or South Korean territory or personnel, but ” The missile launch highlights the destabilizing impact of the illegal (North Korean) weapons program. ”

North Korea conducted a ballistic missile test at around 07:27 a.m. local time on Tuesday, the missile was launched from inland and moved eastward and fell into the sea.

US Strategic Command and NORAD use satellites and radar to track every missile launch globally and can quickly assess whether a launch poses a threat to the United States.

Officials have told CNN in the past that North Korea has not publicly deployed a reliable long-range missile with the ability to reach the West Coast, although North Korea has continued to develop its program. including their long-range ballistic missile advances. rocket.

Staff writer Hunter Lee contributed to this report.