Plane departures across the U.S. were allowed to resume Friday night after the Federal Aviation Administration lifted a nationwide ground stop due to “extraordinary circumstances” caused by communications problems at regional air traffic control centres.
asserted
Administration → allow → centres
All commercial flights were grounded for more than four hours, throwing the nation’s air travel system into chaos in one of the most significant disruptions since January 2023, when a key FAA computer system malfunctioned, and the second since the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.
asserted
system → ground → attacks
The initial FAA notice at just before 4 p.m. announcing the ground stop said it was being imposed “due to extraordinary circumstances and for reasons of safety.”
asserted
it → announce → safety
An estimated 3,500 planes already in the air were ordered to land at the nearest available airport.
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planes → order → airport
Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin initially said there were no indications it was the result of a “nefarious attack,” but did not immediately rule out a cyberattack, or a malfunction in the AI system that had been integrated into key FAA systems earlier this week.
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that → say → systems
“There’s nothing completely certain right now,” Mullin said, adding there are no “footprints” showing an attack and that it appears to be “mechanically driven,” adding that officials were still looking for the cause.
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officials → ’ → cause
In a press conference shortly after the ground stop was lifted just before 8:20 p.m., Mullin and U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy blamed the outage on an antiquated air traffic control system.
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Mullin → lift → system
Mullin said the introduction of new technology overwhelmed it.
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introduction → say → it
The system needs funding for a complete overhaul, he said, estimating a $50 billion price tag and blaming Congress for not providing the money.
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he → need → money
“I don’t want to rule out that we didn’t have nefarious activity here,” said Duffy.
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Duffy → want → activity
“This is what the leadership of President Trump looks like, by the organization and the team he’s put together.
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he → look → organization
We are built to handle crisis like this,” said Mullin.
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Mullin → build → this
“It was an old legacy equipment,” said Duffy.
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Duffy → say → ?
“It failed, and listen, it’s going to continue to fail.
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it → fail → ?
Duffy did say the outage was caused by an overload of the time delay multiplexing, or TDM copper-wire system, which underpins the American air traffic control system and carries both radar signals and voice information from air traffic control to pilots.
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which → say → pilots
Duffy did not say why the system overloaded.
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system → say → ?
“We’re still working on the details of what went wrong today,” said Duffy.
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Duffy → work → details
“I’ll be happy to give you more information when we have it.”
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we → give → it
Across America airplanes were stranded on tarmacs, airports ground to a halt, and travellers scrambled to rent cars and trains, book hotels, and rebook travel without any clarity on when the system might resume.
uncertain
system → strand → clarity
CNN reported some airports neared saturation points on tarmacs and runways, with too many planes and not enough space.
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airports → report → planes
According to flight trackers, some international flights to Europe, Asia, and Hawaii were being allowed to leave from airports on both coasts.
uncertain
flights → accord → coasts
This ground stop extended widely, and the chaos spread.
asserted
chaos → extend → ?
The New York Times reported that the FAA asked its European counterpart to suspend flights from 42 European nations.
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FAA → report → nations
Some 11,000 flights carrying more than 1.5 million passengers were scheduled to take off from airports in the U.S. after 4 p.m. EST, raising the likelihood of more cancellations and flight diversions.
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flights → carry → cancellations
The American air traffic control system operates on antiquated computer systems.
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system → operate → systems
The government has been working to overhaul the outdated technology that air traffic controllers rely on since Congress approved $12.5 billion for the project last year.
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Congress → work → project
Miles of old copper wires have been replaced with fibre optic lines and old radio systems are gradually being replaced at airports across the country.
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systems → replace → country
Earlier this year, the FAA fledged to eliminate floppy discs from the air control system by 2028.
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FAA → fledge → 2028
Duffy has said that another $30 billion will be needed to complete the work, and the White House has begun lobbying Congress to approve it.
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Congress → say → it
In the press conference Friday night, he repeatedly asked for $50 billion.
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he → ask → billion
The problem appeared similar to a regional air traffic control communication outage in September that snarled hundreds of flights across the Northeast, aviation safety expert Steve Arroyo said, except this time on a nationwide scale.
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Arroyo → appear → scale
Three days before Friday’s ground stop, the FAA said an AI tool called SMART AI was being integrated into the air traffic control system.
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tool → say → system
In September, the National Air Traffic Controllers Association, which represents some 15,000 members nationwide, told Flying magazine it was not consulted or involved in the “design, testing, or implementation of SMART and therefore cannot speak to its effect on the air traffic control workforce.”
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it → represent → workforce
Air Space Intelligence, the company responsible for the SMART AI tool, wrote on X, “The current ground stop is not based on or a result of the SMART system, any product of ASI or our integration with FAA and (Air Traffic Control).”
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stop → write → FAA
Both administration officials denied AI caused the outage, but Mullin said, “What it appears to be right now is ... (the) FAA was going in and putting patches into the system, they were putting new equipment and new technology, and that new equipment, new technology was overwhelming the older system.”
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equipment → deny → system
Mullin did not specify what technology he was referring to.
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he → specify → technology
Air Canada announced it was cancelling Canadian flights to and from the United States, and said that flights to international destinations that were scheduled to pass through American airspace might be affected.
uncertain
that → announce → airspace
Some flights destined for American destinations were expected to be rerouted to Canadian airports.
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flights → destine → airports
“Canada has offered its full assistance to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) as it manages the situation, including accommodation of US-bound aircraft as required,” wrote Minister of Transportation Steven MacKinnon in a statement posted on X.
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MacKinnon → offer → X.
“We remain ready to provide support to our American colleagues as the situation evolves.”
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situation → remain → colleagues
…and 6 more, not listed.
The Aporia
