Flights grounded – latest: Corrupted file blamed for 10,000 US plane delays
Flights beginning to resume following widespread disruption
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Your support makes all the difference.The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said a corrupted database file was the reason behind the nationwide grounding of nearly 10,000 flights for the first time in two decades.
Preliminary findings traced the cause to a “damaged database file”, ruling out earlier speculation of a cyberattack. The same file reportedly corrupted both the main system and its backup.
An engineer “replaced one file with another” without realising the mistake, a senior official briefed on the internal review told ABC News.
“It was an honest mistake that cost the country millions.”
A key system used to notify pilots and ground staff of hazards and alerts suffered a “major failure” on Tuesday night. The fault lay with the NOTAM (Notice to Air Missions) system, which keeps pilots and other airport staff updated about aviation hazards and airport facilities.
The FAA was able to lift the ground stop at around 9am on the East Coast, but the damage had been done to schedules for the day.
Most airlines are waiving fees for passengers to rebook travel.
FAA system outage causes chaos with thousands of flight delays: ‘Haven’t seen a ground stop like this since 9/11’
Corrupted file blamed for taking down US flight system and causing 10,000 plane delays or cancellations
Flight delayed or cancelled due to the FAA system outage? Experts share advice
Canada suffers same mysterious air system outage as US, delaying more flights
‘No evidence of a cyber attack’ says White House after outage grounded flights across US
White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said President Joe Biden had a “full briefing” on the matter. She further explained that the FAA has “no evidence of a cyberattack at this point,” and said Mr Biden has “directed DOT to conduct a full investigation into the causes”.
Andrew Feinberg has the latest from Washington, DC.
White House says ‘no evidence of a cyber attack’ after outage grounded flights
A ‘ground stop’ halted takeoffs across the US because pilots could not access a key computer system
Airlines hope for return to normal operations on Thursday
The US aviation sector was struggling to return to normal following a nationwide ground stop imposed by Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) early on Wednesday over a computer issue that forced a 90-minute halt to all US departing flights.
More than 10,300 flights have been delayed so far and over 1,300 canceled according to FlightAware in the first national grounding of flights in about two decades, industry officials said. Many officials compared the grounding to what occurred after the terror attacks on September 11, 2001.
The total number of flights was still rising but airline officials expressed confidence that normal operations could largely return by Thursday, absent new issues.
The cause of the problem with a pilot-alerting messaging system was unclear, but U.S. officials said they had so far found no evidence of a cyberattack. US Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said an issue with safety messages sent to pilots prompted the outage.
Reuters
Recap: Flights grounded across US following major FAA system outage
Flights grounded across US following major FAA outage
Flight delays could have knock-on effects across the globe
Watch: FAA lifts grounding order on flights after computer outage
What brought US domestic flights to a standstill?
Joe Sommerlad explains how US airports ground to a halt this morning.
What brought US domestic flights to a standstill?
‘Major failure’ of vital Notice to Air Missions system forces Federal Aviation Administration to temporarily ground domestic flights, bringing fresh chaos to US airports
What to do if your flight was cancelled or delayed
Thousands of travelers were stranded at US airports on Wednesday due to an hours-long computer outage at the Federal Aviation Administration.
More than 1,000 US flights were cancelled early in the day and almost 7,000 flights were delayed, according to the tracking site FlightAware. That number continued to climb in the afternoon.
Staying calm and knowing your rights can go a long way if your flight plans are disrupted, experts say.
Here’s some of their advice for dealing with a flight delay or cancellation:
Flight delayed or cancelled due to the FAA system outage? Experts share advice
Thousands of travelers were stranded at US airports due to an hours-long computer outage
Pilot association encourages patience as airlines get back on schedule
The Air Line Pilots Association released the following statement after the resumption of air traffic operations this morning.
“We are in regular contact with [the FAA] and will continue to work with them and airline managements to ensure our aviation system continues to be as safe as possible,” it reads. “Airline pilots are #TrainedForLife to handle unique situations such as this.”
Later the group added: “We understand the disruptions and frustrations this is causing and we encourage patience by all as we work to return the air transportation network to normal operations.”
Corrupted file blamed for flight delays
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said a corrupted database file was the reason behind the nationwide grounding of nearly 10,000 flights for the first time in two decades.
Preliminary findings traced the cause to a “damaged database file”, ruling out earlier speculation of a cyberattack. The same file reportedly corrupted both the main system and its backup.
An engineer “replaced one file with another” without realising the mistake, a senior official briefed on the internal review told ABC News.
Corrupted file blamed for taking down US flight system and causing delays
More than 10,000 flights delayed in first national grounding of flights in about two decades
White House says ‘no evidence of a cyber attack’ in FAA outage
The White House said there is “no evidence of a cyber attack at this point” after a computer outage led the Federal Aviation Administration to halt aviation takeoffs across the US earlier in the day.
“The president has directed the Department of Transportation to conduct a full investigation into the causes and provide regular updates. Again, this is incredibly important to top priority the safety of Americans who are flying. We want to make sure that they’re safe,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters.
Andrew Feinberg reports from Washington, DC.
White House says ‘no evidence of a cyber attack’ after outage grounded flights
A ‘ground stop’ halted takeoffs across the US because pilots could not access a key computer system
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