Paving crew cuts power at Tucson airport

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Updated Nov 13, 2017
Photo source: flytucson.comPhoto source: flytucson.com

A paving crew’s mistake affected 15 flights November 3 at Tucson International Airport, according to the Arizona Daily Star.

The crew was repaving the airport’s main runway and knocked off a handhold that fell onto a power cable. That damaged electrical circuits to the lights on the crosswind runway the airport was using while the paving was occurring, the Daily Star reports.

Power was restored at 10 p.m., two and a half hours later. The FAA told the Daily Star it is looking into the incident to determine why backup generators did not come on immediately, as required.

The airport decided to complete minor repair work on the main runway and reopen it that night. An airport official also told the Daily Star that paving crews would follow new procedures to prevent such an incident from happening again.