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Copper wire replacement caused air traffic control issue that grounded flights across U.S.: White House

  • 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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The Korea TimesThe Korea Times
+2 Reposted by 2 other sources
Lean Left

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…

·Seoul, Korea (the Republic of)
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Lean Left

Still chaos and planes stopped. The minister: "Maybe a mistake" . But the White House ends up under fire for the fate of the transports .

·Rome, Italy
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NewsBusters broke the news in Herndon, United States on Friday, November 13, 2026.
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