Copper wire replacement caused air traffic control issue that grounded flights across U.S.: White House
Officials said 3,500 planes were grounded as a faulty router overloaded aging air traffic control systems and disrupted radar feeds.
- On Friday, the Federal Aviation Administration grounded planes for over four hours—the longest nationwide ground stop in 25 years—after new technology overloaded antiquated air traffic control equipment, causing "intermittent" communications and radar gaps.
- Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said a contractor replacing copper wires with fiber optic lines caused the system overload; he and the White House are pushing for $30 billion more to complete critical infrastructure upgrades.
- The stoppage affected about a quarter of 45,000 daily U.S. flights, with more than 4,100 cancellations. Aviation consultant Andrew Charlton said the "knock-on effect" of the disruption is incredible.
- FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford said Saturday that U.S. air travel should be fully recovered by the end of tomorrow, though flights will still experience delays and cancellations throughout the day.
- Modernizing active aviation systems is "incredibly complex and dangerous," aviation consultant Andrew Charlton warned, as officials investigate potential contractor "incompetence" while aging equipment remains a long-term concern.
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Morgan County CitizenRepair of old copper wiring caused US flight disruption: Trump admin
Weary travelers endured more flight disruptions as service resumed at US airports after an hours-long total stoppage, with officials saying the situation should return to normal Sunday.
The Korea Times
WASHINGTON — A massive, nearly five-hour shutdown of the US aviation system that has disrupted more than 20,000 flights since Friday may have been the fault of a single router installed by government contractor L3Harris, government officials said Saturday. The incident is the latest painful example of the aging US air traffic control telecom system and the struggles to replace systems while keeping the old communications working. The FAA's aging…
Still chaos and planes stopped. The minister: "Maybe a mistake" . But the White House ends up under fire for the fate of the transports .
Copper wiring repair caused flight chaos: Trump admin
Weary travellers braced for more flight disruptions on Saturday as service resumed at US airports after an hours-long stoppage that the Trump administration blamed on a botched replacement of old copper wire communication lines. Friday's nationwide ground stop — meaning no planes could take off — sparked widespread chaos and left hundreds of thousands of passengers in limbo, with some pulled off planes moments before they were due to depart by a…
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