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L3Harris Technologies Crew Linked to Nationwide FAA Flight Stoppage During Network Upgrade

L3Harris Technologies Crew Linked to Nationwide FAA Flight Stoppage During Network Upgrade

A nationwide ground stop for flights across the U.S. occurred after an L3Harris Technologies contractor crew was working on the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) air traffic control network. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy stated that the crew was at a remote FAA site on Friday afternoon, switching telecommunication lines from old copper wire to fiber. This fiber upgrade work has been ongoing for months across numerous facilities. During this process, a router began to flood other routers within the air traffic control system with over 1,000 connection attempts every four to five seconds. The instability in radar and communications began at 3:36 p.m. ET, leading to the system shutdown. The FAA ordered a nearly five-hour nationwide ground stop, marking the longest such halt since September 11, 2001. Once the issue at the remote site was isolated, all systems came back online. Officials are currently investigating whether the incident was due to user error by the L3Harris crew or a faulty router. Cyb...

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy Rules Out Cyberattack for FAA Ground Stop, Cites Contractor Error

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy Rules Out Cyberattack for FAA Ground Stop, Cites Contractor Error

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy stated that Friday's nationwide air travel shutdown was not believed to be cyber-related, attributing the incident to work on updating the system’s aging telecommunications lines. At a news conference, Secretary Duffy clarified that investigators found no evidence of nefarious activity or AI involvement. The problem was pinpointed to a single facility where an FAA contractor was performing routine maintenance to switch from old copper wire to fiber. According to Duffy, a router being replaced by L3Harris, the FAA’s legacy telecom provider, either through contractor error or a faulty piece of equipment, began flooding other routers in the air traffic control system. This led the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to implement a more than four-hour ground stop, halting all flights across the United States and disrupting travel for hundreds of thousands of passengers. FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford supported the decision to implement the ground stop to relieve pressure ...

US flight shutdown exposes deepening air traffic network crisis

US flight shutdown exposes deepening air traffic network crisis

By Rajesh Kumar Singh CHICAGO, Nov 13 (Reuters) - A communications failure that halted flight departures across the United States on Friday has renewed scrutiny of the country's aging air traffic control network, raising questions about its resilience even as the government spends billions of

FAA contractor, router focus of investigation into air traffic halt

FAA contractor, router focus of investigation into air traffic halt

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said work on an individual router being done by contractor L3Harris led to the air traffic shutdown.

Thousands of flights canceled as airlines work to recover from nationwide ground stop

Thousands of flights canceled as airlines work to recover from nationwide ground stop

Airlines across the U.S. are working to recover from the longest nationwide ground stop in 25 years

Thousands of flights canceled or delayed after FAA lifts ground stop

Thousands of flights canceled or delayed after FAA lifts ground stop

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said "operations are slowly returning to normal" after the FAA lifted a four-hour, nationwide ground stop.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy Calls for $50 Billion to Modernize Outdated Air Traffic Control Systems

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy Calls for $50 Billion to Modernize Outdated Air Traffic Control Systems

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy has requested $50 billion from Congress to modernize the nation's air traffic control systems, following a nationwide ground stop caused by a telecommunications outage. Duffy stated that the Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA) routers were overloaded with data, leading to the system shutdown. This incident resulted in thousands of flight cancellations and delays across the U.S. Duffy emphasized that the public was never in danger and that the shutdown was a precautionary measure. He attributed the failure to an 'incredibly old air traffic control system' and dismissed any connection to recent Microsoft outages or the FAA's new Strategic Management of Airspace, Routing and Trajectories (SMART) AI tool. While Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin has not entirely ruled out a cyberattack, he and Duffy maintained that the analog system's age was the primary cause.

US to resume flights after air traffic communications failure sparks chaos

US to resume flights after air traffic communications failure sparks chaos

By David Shepardson, Doyinsola Oladipo and Rajesh Kumar Singh WASHINGTON, Nov 13 (Reuters) - The U.S.

US air travel disruptions to persist until late on Sunday, FAA head says

US air travel disruptions to persist until late on Sunday, FAA head says

By David Shepardson WASHINGTON, Nov 14 (Reuters) - US air travel is not expected to return to normal schedules until late on Sunday, the head of the FAA said, as the aviation system gradually recovers from a nationwide flight shutdown that officials blamed on routine maintenance gone awry.

Thousands of US flights canceled, delayed as air travel system slowly recovers from shutdown

Thousands of US flights canceled, delayed as air travel system slowly recovers from shutdown

By David Shepardson and Doyinsola Oladipo WASHINGTON, Nov 14 (Reuters) - Airlines canceled 4,500 US flights and delayed 4,400 more on Saturday as the United States struggled to recover from the longest nationwide flight shutdown since the September 11, 2001, attacks.

Thousands of US flights canceled, delayed as air travel system recovers from shutdown

Thousands of US flights canceled, delayed as air travel system recovers from shutdown

By David Shepardson, Doyinsola Oladipo and Rajesh Kumar Singh WASHINGTON/NEWARK, New Jersey, Nov 14 (Reuters) - Major airlines on Saturday canceled more than 3,700 US flights and delayed 2,000 more as the United States sought to recover from the longest nationwide shutdown of flights since the

Air travel issues to persist well into Sunday, officials say, with thousands of flights affected

Air travel issues to persist well into Sunday, officials say, with thousands of flights affected

By David Shepardson WASHINGTON, Nov 14 (Reuters) - The head of the FAA predicted that US air travel would not return to normal schedules until late Sunday as the aviation system gradually recovers from a nationwide flight shutdown that officials blamed on routine maintenance gone awry.