On August 26, a front in the Caribbean developed into a tropical depression, which organized further and ultimately became Tropical Storm Ida. Amid favorable conditions, Ida intensified into a Category 4 hurricane with sustained winds of 150 mph and made landfall near Port Fourchon, Louisiana on August 29, the 16th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina.
Each day leading up to landfall, L3Harris Technologies' Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Telecommunications Infrastructure (FTI) Program's Contingency Disaster Recovery (CDR) team reviewed the storm's projected path and its increasing strength. They prepped for a potential U.S. landfall in the gulf coast, monitoring what service sites for the FAA could be in the path of the storm. The FAA reached out to L3Harris' FTI District Service Manager and advised they would be going to Readiness Level Charlie across the gulf states from Beaumont, Texas to Mobile, Alabama. This meant they would initiate preparatory actions, such as deploying emergency repair crews, in advance of the potential natural disaster.
The FTI CDR team closely communicated with the FAA's National Airspace System (NAS) Security and Enterprise Operations (NASEO) team and our telecommunication partners to provide situational awareness updates, emphasize the importance of swift facility restoration in the event the storm caused damage, and to identify what critical services would need priority restoration. The FAA requested L3Harris deploy and forward stage mobile satellite assets to Atlanta, Georgia and Shreveport, Louisiana in preparation for service recovery efforts. The FTI CDR team also ensured any L3Harris employees in the path of the storm were prepared and safe.
Based on the projected track, the FTI CDR team identified 81 FAA sites and 342 services likely to be impacted. As the storm made landfall, the FTI Primary Network Operations Control Center (PNOCC) in Melbourne, Florida began to identify storm-related service outages as the telecommunications infrastructure became inundated. Receiving a request for assistance from the FAA NASEO team, FTI Operations responded immediately and the FTI Satellite Communications (FTI-SAT) engineering team was sent to the impacted areas. The first FTI-SAT team dispatched to Shreveport, Louisiana where they met with the FAA Disaster team to assess facility service outages and discuss priority service restorations.
Two days after landfall, initial damage assessments identified over 250 services in Louisiana impacted by Hurricane Ida. Many FAA sites had sustained power loss and telecommunication infrastructure damage, with some sites having major damage and no expectation for a rapid recovery.
To restore vital services for the NAS, L3Harris' FTI-SAT engineers quickly responded and coordinated with the satellite network provider, SES, and the ground receiving partner, UltiSat to assess the system availability and deploy the emergency FTI-SAT assets. The FAA NASEO team identified additional critical service restoration areas and requested a second satellite communications system to support Remote Transmitter/Receiver (RTR) services in Galliano, Louisiana. The team dispatched and restored services to RTR services in Houston and Galliano using temporary and long-term satellite communications solutions to maintain operations while damage to facilities could be addressed.
In the face of these types of disasters, it's critical that L3Harris works quickly to ensure the continuity of FTI Services to ensure the safety and security of our skies, explained Hunt Fitch, FTI-SAT Engineer. Our response is more than just helping the FAA customer; it's helping impacted communities. As soon as we can reestablish communications, air traffic can resume which allows more relief into these areas. Our work permits critical disaster relief to begin in a timely manner.
Of the more than 200 services impacted by Hurricane Ida, only a small percentage remain out of service because of long term power or infrastructure issues. All critical communications were quickly restored and the air traffic in the region resumed normal operations within a week. I would like to take this opportunity to extend a heartfelt thank you to the team for the nothing short of incredible efforts they put forth to restore NAS services in the wake of Hurricane Ida, said David Fischer, FAA National Telecommunications Operations Manager. Repeatedly, in times of communication crisis, the L3Harris FTI team has risen to the occasion and excelled.
The tireless dedication of the FTI-SAT team and the numerous hours of the FTI Operations and Management team ensured that our customers could return to normal operations' in the face of disaster. These tremendous efforts paralleled the continuous 24/7 operations of the FTI team as they support over 4000 FAA sites across the country to maintain safe and secure skies.
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
07/10/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, today announced the latest Long-Term Supported (LTS) release of Dalet Flex. Build...
06/09/2026
June 9 2026, 23:00 (PDT) Dolby and MagentaTV Bring Fans Closer to the FIFA Worl...
20/08/2026
Multiview available via SaaS for streaming platforms and operators through broadpeak.io, with live demonstrations at IBC2026
Broadpeak , a leader in streaming ...
20/08/2026
Techex, a leading provider of live broadcast infrastructure solutions, has appointed Stuart Almond as Chief Revenue Officer, further strengthening its executive...
20/08/2026
Avid today announced that MediaCity Studios has upgraded its production infrastructure with an enhanced end-to-end Avid production ecosystem, including the dep...
20/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
20/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
20/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
20/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
20/08/2026
IPC Expands Brazilian Presence with New Channel Partner CCATech
Industry veterans Carlos Abrah o and Bruno Lopes strengthen local support and expand IPCs prese...
20/08/2026
Zixi Enters Mauritius Market Through Strategic Deployment with MTC Jockey Club
Worlds Oldest Horse Racing Club in the Southern Hemisphere Selects Zixis Softwar...
20/08/2026
LA JOLLA, CA-Scripps Research assistant professor Tiantian Liu has received a five-year NIAID DP2 award from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Di...
20/08/2026
Audiences reveal appetite for multicultural Australia on-screen 20 August 2026
Dr Georgie McClean, Dr Rebecca Huntley (L-R)
By Dr Georgie McClean and Dr Rebec...
20/08/2026
How Mavis Studio Is Expanding Live Production Teaching at Sussex
Brie Clayton August 19, 2026
0 Comments
Hero image displays a student about to mix be...
20/08/2026
Vertical Unscripted Series Legal Queens Captured with Blackmagic Design
Brie Clayton August 19, 2026
0 Comments
Reality TV veteran Eric Gardner create...
20/08/2026
It's a new way into the cloud.
GeForce NOW welcomes Firefox support to the cloud, opening up another way to jump into high-performance PC gaming straight ...
19/08/2026
As the cost of IP nears price parity with traditional SDI, Reynolds argues that ...
19/08/2026
A private 5G bubble was chosen instead of traditional broadcast RF for the race ...
19/08/2026
(L-R) Rafael Manuel and Isabel Sicat attend the Filipi ana premiere during the 2026 Sundance Film Festival at The Ray Theatre on January 23, 2026, in Park Cit...
19/08/2026
Studio owners invited to have their say on rates cuts
The Music Producers Guild (MPG) are inviting UK-based studios to take part in an in-depth survey that ...
19/08/2026
Vintage-inspired desktop interface revealed
Harrison's latest hardware offering sees them head into the world of audio interfaces, delivering a 10-in/12...
19/08/2026
Granular effect remains locked to scale and tempo
Described as your dream granular effect , Minimal Audio's latest creation is capable of turning any s...
19/08/2026
First polyphonic SWAM instrument incoming
Audio Modeling's latest physical-modelling orchestral instrument is just around the corner, and is now availab...
19/08/2026
World Cup Games Generate 84 Billion Minutes Across FOX, Fox Sports 1 and NBCU...
19/08/2026
July brought typical peak-holiday drops in viewership, driven primarily by viewers stepping away from screens and a visible decline in reach across both traditi...
19/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
19/08/2026
Henry joins BCE as the company accelerates its commercial strategy and expands its international presence across the media, broadcast and technology markets. He...
19/08/2026
iWedia, a leading provider of software solutions for connected TV devices, today announced a major milestone in Android platform optimization with the successfu...
19/08/2026
NTP Technology announces that ST 2110-30 audio-over-IP connectivity with AES67 and RAVENNA capabilities is now available for the brand's world-class audio i...
19/08/2026
Net Insight has been selected to provide its Nimbra platform by the service provider Big Blue Marble, formerly ORS Group, as the core media transport solution f...
19/08/2026
LiveU has supported Coventry City FC and several other top-flight UK football clubs through one of their most demanding live production challenges of the year, ...
19/08/2026
Nature Seekers Documentary Shot with Blackmagic URSA Cine 12K LF
Brie Clayton August 18, 2026
0 Comments
Filming endangered turtles required camera...
19/08/2026
Neyrinck Brings D-Control Consoles Back to Life on Apple Silicon with D-Control ...
19/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
19/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
19/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
19/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
19/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
19/08/2026
Riedel Communications today announced that Edith Cowan University (ECU) in Perth, Australia, implemented a comprehensive communications infrastructure that brin...
19/08/2026
QuickLink, a leading provider of award-winning video production and remote guest contribution solutions, will spotlight a major leap forward in remote guest con...
19/08/2026
Integrated platform melds media asset management, playout automation and newsroom workflows
EMAM, PlayBox Neo and SNEWS have officially launched Nuvex, a conne...
19/08/2026
Screen Australia releases the Private Investment Toolkit to strengthen screen in...
19/08/2026
Do Aussies truly value local content? Unpacking Screen Currency 2026 with Deirdr...
19/08/2026
There's an early Christmas gift for Bookish fans, as UKTV confirms the re-commission of the hit U&alibi drama, created by and starring Mark Gatiss. Viewers ...
19/08/2026
Wednesday 19 August 2026
Sky gives sports fans the chance to watch multiple liv...
19/08/2026
On Saturday September 5 Katie Taylor will step into the ring for the fight of her life against Flora Pili in front of 80,000 fans in Croke Park. A legendary fig...
18/08/2026
SportStream 2026, a free three-day virtual event, will take place September 15-17. One registration provides access to all three days of live programming and on...
18/08/2026
BeckTV will introduce BeckFlow to the European market at IBC2026, demonstrated on the Providius stand (10.F53).
BeckFlow is a web-based schematic documentation...
On August 26, a front in the Caribbean developed into a tropical depression, which organized further and ultimately became Tropical Storm Ida. Amid favorable conditions, Ida intensified into a Category 4 hurricane with sustained winds of 150 mph and made landfall near Port Fourchon, Louisiana on August 29, the 16th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina. 
