FAA computer systems crash causes flight logjam across the country

Computer glitches at a Federal Aviation Administration ( FAA) centre outside Atlanta caused substantial delays Tuesday at some major airports across the country, including those in Boston, Atlanta and Chicago.

The FAA identified the trouble as a failure of a processing system that handles flight plans filed by airlines before their aircraft take off. Details include information like departure and arrival points, type of aircraft, the route, name of the pilot and the number of people on board.

FAA shifted the processing to a backup system in Salt Lake City.According to an FAA spokesperson the problem was ''pretty much resolved'' by early evening. The agency also emphasized that passenger safety was not affected, since the glitch did not compromise the agency's ability to track flights in the air.

The FAA also said it could not estimate how many flights had been involved. The most serious delays took place at Logan International Airport in Boston, Hartsfield in Atlanta, and O'Hare and Midway in Chicago. Baltimore-Washington International Airport and Charlotte Douglas International Airport in North Carolina also experienced delays of an hour or more during the afternoon, the FAA said.

The problem occurred even as the busy summer schedule is beginning to wind down. At any given point of time about 5,000 aircraft are in the skies over the United States on an average summer weekday.