It wasn't just the total equipment breakdown, though counting on "unusable" phones to connect airports and military agencies is probably a bad idea. Stimulus money was supposed to be used to improve transportation and security infrastructure, but apparently we just ran out. Nonetheless, stuff is stuff and we can always buy new stuff. No biggie.

The real treat here is the way that no one at any level had any clue what they were doing. It ended up being a confused on-board flight attendant who alerted the pilots that something had gone dangerously wrong. It's almost as if large government bureaucracies, insulated as they are from competition and confident in their longevity, have no reason to stay sharp. Almost:

The FAA acknowledged last month that controllers and managers had been slow to react after the pilots went out of radio contact. Among the new details in the documents:

* The special phone line that connects the FAA's Minneapolis Center to the Domestic Events Network (DEN), which alerts the military and law enforcement agencies about aviation security emergencies, had numerous problems... the communication equipment "does not operate adequately in a consistent manner." ... it suffers from loud feedback and clicking noises that render it "unusable." The FAA said the DEN should have been notified within five to 10 minutes, but they were not called for more than an hour.

* Because of apparent mix-ups, controllers never tried to radio the pilots on the last radio frequency they had spoken on, according to the preliminary NTSB report. As a result, the pilots may never have heard controllers frantically trying to reach them.

* At least initially, the controllers did not attempt to reach the pilots on a radio frequency reserved for emergencies, the NTSB said. The pilots said they were monitoring the frequency.

Even if the equipment had been working perfectly, it was staffed by people who didn't think to call security or to ping the airplane on the last frequency. I know that this long ago became a cliche, but I really can't wait until the government takes over health care. All those sociological and organizational studies about how static bureaucracies atrophy - obviously just conservative scaremongering. Plus liberals mean well, so shut up.

References:
* Flight attendant caught wayward pilots unaware [AP]
* NTSB fills in details on errant Northwest flight [USA Today]

Related Mere Rhetoric Categories:
* American Politics
* Economy
* Health Care