FAA: Delays caused by computer failure

ATLANTA, Aug. 27 (UPI) -- Federal aviation officials are blaming 134 delayed flights throughout the United States on computer failures in Georgia and Utah.

Tuesday's breakdown was the latest headache for the Federal Aviation Administration -- already heavily criticized for chronic delays amid a plea to Congress for money to modernize air traffic equipment, The Washington Post reported Wednesday.

A computer system near Atlanta that handles basic flight data failed Tuesday afternoon and soon after a backup system in Salt Lake City crashed, the Post reported. The Salt Lake City computer was back on line Wednesday while computer engineers continued to work on the computer in Georgia.

FAA officials said they did not lose the ability to communicate with aircraft and Tuesday's problem was not a safety issue.

The same system failed in June 2007, resulting in massive delays.