A network crash grounded every flight in the US, only the third time in history
On Friday alone, more than 4,700 flights were canceled and around 10,000 delayed, according to Flightradar24 data cited by Reuters. It's only the third nationwide ground stop in US history, after 9/11 and the 2023 NOTAM outage. Read Entire Article
A network crash in the United States caused the grounding of every flight nationwide, marking the third such nationwide ground stop in history. The issue originated from the FAA Telecommunications Infrastructure (FTI), a network managed by defense contractor L3Harris for the agency, which connects all aviation facilities across the country.
The crash occurred following a software update that overloaded the system's routers with inconsistent data, leading the FAA to halt all departures for over four hours. More than 4,700 flights were canceled and around 10,000 delayed, according to Flightradar24 data. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy explained that the routers began emitting inconsistent readings, prompting the FAA to shut down the system.
Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin added that new security patches added to the older system overwhelmed its routers. Despite the extensive cancellations, the FAA ruled out cyberattacks and confirmed that the more than 3,000 flights already in the air could safely land. The incident highlights the aging nature of the telecom backbone, which the FAA plans to replace by the end of 2028 with a new system built by AT&T, as part of an overhaul to retire outdated technologies.
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