{
  "id": 20129844,
  "title": "US's longest aircraft stoppage in 25 years: Why a problem on the ground affected flights thousands of miles away",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/11/15/uss-longest-aircraft-stoppage-in-25-years-why-a-problem-on-the-ground",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-11-15T06:51:17.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Hindustan Times - World News",
    "slug": "hindustan-times-world-news",
    "url": "https://www.hindustantimes.com/world-news/us-longest-aircraft-stoppage-in-25-years-why-a-problem-on-the-ground-affected-flights-thousands-of-miles-away-101794722840885.html"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "An upgrade to a decades-old telecommunications network in the United States caused the longest flight disruption in 25 years, affecting thousands of flights and leaving passengers stranded across the nation. Federal authorities attributed the issue to a botched attempt to replace outdated copper wire communication lines. The problem began when L3Harris Technologies Inc. replaced old copper wire at a remote location, causing a router to flood the air traffic control system with connection requests every 4 to 5 seconds. This led to communication and radar disruptions, prompting the Transportation Secretary to order a nationwide flight halt. Aircraft in the air followed standard procedures to land safely, and passengers were left stranded at airports. The incident involved a technical issue called a rolling outage, which can affect air traffic control centers at different times without warning. The FAA oversees 22 regional air traffic control centers that manage long-distance flights between airports. These centers depend on remote radio transmitter and receiver sites linked through telecommunications networks being upgraded from copper cables to fiber-optic lines. When these connections experienced intermittent frequency stability issues, up to 17 of the 22 regional centers were impacted, causing a nationwide disruption.",
  "summary": "President Donald Trump-led administration blamed the disruption on a botched attempt to replace decades-old copper wire communication lines.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 3,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Winnipeg Free Press",
        "title": "Why a problem on the ground can affect flights thousands of miles away among other issues",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/11/14/why-a-problem-on-the-ground-can-affect-flights-thousands-of-miles",
        "published": "2026-11-14T19:13:31.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "PBS NewsHour",
        "title": "Why a problem on the ground can affect flights thousands of miles away among other issues",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/11/14/why-a-problem-on-the-ground-can-affect-flights-thousands-of-miles-20065337",
        "published": "2026-11-14T22:35:29.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}