US aviation shutdown blamed on L3 Harris installed router
On November 13, the United States aviation system experienced a massive five-hour shutdown, disrupting over 20,000 flights. The cause of the outage may have been a router installed by contractor L3Harris, according to government officials. This incident highlights the challenges of upgrading the aging US air traffic control telecommunications system while maintaining old communication infrastructure.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has faced multiple issues with its aging telecom systems, including fiber cuts, accidental file deletion, and component failures. In response to the recent outage, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy emphasized that the FAA's system failed to meet the moment. The FAA is investigating whether the issue stemmed from human error, installer error, or a faulty router.
L3Harris has stated that it is supporting the FAA's investigation to understand the conditions that led to the shutdown. The FAA spends $1 billion annually to maintain its old copper wire system, which is being replaced with a more modern fiber-based communications system. Officials expressed concern that the outdated routers, which were supposed to be replaced in 2006, may have contributed to the issue.
Written by urgent.news from Investing.com's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
