Air traffic controllers earn about $160,000 on average, and the job doesn't require a college degree. Still, the government is short by 3,000 people.

A portion of the Denver air route traffic control center experienced a 90-second loss of communications late Monday, the Federal Aviation Administration said in a statement.

The FAA said in a statement that the Denver Air Route Traffic Control Center lost communications for approximately 90 seconds. McIntosh said both the primary and main backup frequencies went down, so the controllers had to turn to an emergency frequency to communicate.