Newark air traffic control lost contact with pilots at least twice before, source says

The breakdown that resulted in air traffic controllers losing communications with the pilots of planes they were guiding into Newark International Airport has happened at least two other times since August, a current veteran controller told NBC News.

The communications breakdown last week that resulted in air traffic controllers losing radar and radio contact with the pilots of planes they were guiding into Newark Liberty International Airport has happened at least two other times since August, a current veteran controller told NBC News on Tuesday.

And at least eight or nine times in recent months, controllers lost radio contact with pilots flying into one of the nation's busiest airports, said the Newark airspace controller who asked not to be identified.

“We lost all radios! No backups!" the controller said. "Everything went down."

The Federal Aviation Administration did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the claims Tuesday.

This comes a week after controllers in Area C of the Philadelphia TRACON, which guides flights in and out of Newark, lost all communication on April 28 with the pilots bound for that airport — a near-disaster that is now under investigation.