The pilot flew to Denver International Airport on Monday and about two minutes of pilots unable to communicate with air traffic controllers due to multiple radio transmitter failures, a leading Federal Aviation Administration official confirmed to Congress on Thursday.

Frank McIntosh, deputy chief operating officer of the FAA, told the House committee that one of the air traffic controllers lost its radio frequency. He said the controller has multiple frequencies, so in this case the operator turns to its backup frequency.

McIntosh said the backup dropped by about two minutes.

As specified in the emergency procedure, the controller switches to a radio frequency of 121.5 MHz, which is mainly used for aircraft communications and emergencies, where they are able to connect to the aircraft and inform the pilot to switch to secondary frequency.

The disruption occurred at the Denver Air Route Traffic Control Center in Longmont, Colorado, and handles airspace in most of Colorado and in several neighboring states.

In a statement sent to NPR Thursday, the FAA said that "about 90 seconds" lasted "about 90 seconds" on Monday around 1:50 p.m., "both two launchers covering a section of airspace have dropped. The controller used another frequency to communicate the pilot to the pilot. The aircraft continued until the aircraft. The aircraft remained safely separated without any impact on operation. The FAA is investigating."

Denver News quoted a power outage that lasted at least six minutes, but McIntosh said it was "over-exaggerated."

Denver first reported Wednesday on Wednesday that as many as 20 pilots flew to Denver International Airport on Monday and could not connect with air traffic controllers.

The news is growing scrutiny of major U.S. aviation agencies following multiple disruptive communications and radar outages at Newark Liberty International, a deadly air crash in Washington, D.C., with nearly nearly collision collisions and a shortage of air traffic controllers.

As the FAA faces many problems, the agency still has no permanent head. President Trump's chief Mike Whitaker resigned in January after resigning on inauguration day.

McIntosh, who has worked for the FAA for two decades, faced doubts Wednesday and Thursday over recent failures and whether the civil aviation industry is safe.

McIntosh spoke with the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee on Thursday about the latest developments in the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2024. He talked about the power outage in Denver in response to California Rep. Robert Garcia's question.

"We know that in some cases these problems have gone back decades, but it's still an absolutely shocking system failure and we need immediate solutions," Garcia said.

McIntosh testified Wednesday that the hotline that provides direct communications between the Pentagon and the Air Traffic Control Tower at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport has been providing more than three years. It is unclear how much difference this will be to prevent the January incident, in which Army Blackhawk helicopters and an American Airlines regional jet crashed in the air, killing 67 people.

Also Wednesday, Transport Secretary Sean Duffy testified at a hearing on the House Appropriations Committee and had multiple issues in Newark. He confirmed to lawmakers that there were similar power outages in October and November before the April 28 blackout, which lasted 30 to 90 seconds. It is not clear how long these disruptions last.

Duffy and the FAA announced changes in Newark to improve the technology at the airport and slow down departure and arrival. Duffy also proposed a comprehensive plan to modernize the air traffic control system. No specific plans or dollar amounts have been proposed to Congress, but the House committee recently estimated that modernization of the system could be at least $12.5 billion.