FAA Computer System Failure Causes Nationwide Flight Delays and Order to Stop All Aircraft Departures

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) experienced a nationwide computer system failure on Wednesday, leading to massive flight delays and an unprecedented order to stop all aircraft departures. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said in an interview with MSNBC that while there is no direct indication of any kind of external or nefarious activity, authorities are not ruling out the possibility.

A source familiar with the FAA operation told CNN that when air traffic control officials realized they had a computer issue late Tuesday, they came up with a plan to reboot the system when it would least disrupt air travel Wednesday morning.

Buttigieg said the FAA is continuing to investigate the issue, which occurred in its Notice to Air Missions system. Officials ultimately found a corrupt file in the main Notice to Air Missions, or NOTAM, the source said. A corrupt file was also found in the backup system.

The FAA is working to restore the system and resume normal operations. In the meantime, the agency is asking travelers to check with their airlines for the latest information on their flights.

The FAA is working to identify the root cause of the issue and take steps to prevent similar outages in the future. Buttigieg said the agency is taking the incident “very seriously” and is committed to ensuring the safety of the traveling public.