A student pilot on a solo cross-country flight over Texas was forced to land on Friday when a telecommunications failure triggered the longest nationwide ground stop of US flights since the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
The Federal Aviation Administration ordered the nationwide halt at 3:54 p.m. East Coast time, grounding departures for about five hours. Officials later identified the underlying cause as an overloaded router during routine maintenance.
Today’s nationwide ground stop happened because our air traffic control system is operating on DECADES-OLD, analog equipment that simply cannot compete with the demands of the 21st century.⁰@FAANews is modernizing this aging infrastructure thanks to a $12.5 billion down… pic.twitter.com/nXUPHkdNdV
“Ma’am, I’m a student pilot. Honestly, this is my first time doing solo cross-country, and I don’t know what to do,” the student pilot told an air traffic controller, according to reporting from Reuters in The Star.
The controller guided him around other aircraft near Fort Worth before he landed safely. Nationwide, about 4,000 aircraft were in the air when the order came down, and all landed safely despite partial radar and communications capabilities.
The safety of our skies is built on redundancies. Whatever led to the nationwide ground stop will warrant a thorough and complete investigation. As Aviation Subcommittee Ranking Member, I'll be demanding answers from the FAA. https://t.co/kCJts7xBRm
FlightAware data showed that overall, 9,159 flights were cancelled and 7,190 were delayed on Friday. On Saturday, American Airlines, Delta Air Lines and United Airlines each scrubbed approximately a quarter of their schedules, JetBlue grounded nearly 45% of its flights, and total cancellations approached 10,000.
Routine Maintenance Caused Router Surges and Radar Issues
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said the trouble began when contractor L3Harris was performing routine maintenance at a remote FAA facility to switch telecommunications lines from legacy copper wire to a fiber optic system. Duffy said the work caused new routers to flood other devices with more than 1,000 connection attempts every four to five seconds.
L3Harris has been modernizing the communications infrastructure supporting the National Airspace System in close coordination with the FAA. With safety and reliability as our highest priorities, L3Harris, together with its telco partners and the FAA, has completed more than 70%…
The surge generated inconsistent radar data and communications issues at 17 of the FAA’s 22 en route centers. Officials met in the White House Situation Room on Friday afternoon as federal agencies scrambled to determine the cause.
“We see zero evidence of anything nefarious and zero evidence of anything AI-related,” FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford said, pointing out that the entire national security apparatus alongside the White House situation room was mobilized for the response, with FBI personnel also stationed in facilities to lead inquiries.
After restoring full functionality at our air traffic control centers and TRACONs, the @FAANews reopened the airspace tonight. It will take us time resume normal operations, so please continue to check with your airline for the latest information. Our top priority is the safety… pic.twitter.com/QcTcXoaS8M
“There is no indication, we had no reason to believe, that as of right now, that this was a threat to the United States,” Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin told reporters in an earlier briefing outside the White House, as reported by CBS News. Air travelers received assurances regarding flight security from US Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin, who stated there was zero proof indicating a cyber assault occurred.
“What we're working to determine was whether we had incompetence, meaning was it … installator error from L3Harris? Or did they install a faulty router?” Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said, questioning whether there was incompetence or installer error from L3Harris.
Flight Cancellations Trigger Congressional Oversight and Demands for Answers
Airlines cancelled more than 9,000 flights on Friday and over 5,000 flights on Saturday as carriers struggled to reposition crews and aircraft. FAA head Bryan Bedford apologized to passengers and said that operations were expected to return to normal schedules by late Sunday.
Lawmakers immediately demanded answers. Democratic leaders on the House Homeland Security Committee wrote on social media that the administration had brought the nation’s skies to a standstill and vowed oversight.
You brought the nation’s skies to a standstill. If you think Congressional Democrats will let you bury how this happened, you are sorely mistaken.⁰⁰Preserve all documents and emails. Oversight is coming. https://t.co/9VGOrjRdCl
Expressing relief that no fatalities occurred in a post on X, New York Governor Kathy Hochul urged President Trump to fire Duffy or demand his resignation, while various members of the US Congress pushed for formal probes into the roots of the catastrophic breakdown.
“Whatever led to the nationwide ground stop will warrant a thorough and complete investigation,” Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Illinois, said on social media, according to USA Today.
Sean Duffy must resign, or President Trump must remove him immediately. America’s airspace ground to a halt yesterday, leaving thousands of flights canceled and travelers stranded across the country. More than 3,500 planes were already in the air as radar and communications…
Following the disruption, Duffy called on Congress to provide $50 billion in funding to fully overhaul aging air traffic control systems, noting that Congress provided $12.5 billion for upgrades to the air traffic control system in 2025.
GAME UPDATE: The @OleMissFB at @OU_Football game has been moved to Sunday, Nov. 15 at 1 PM ET / Noon CT due to travel issues related to Friday’s nationwide FAA ground stoppage. Television network is TBA.#SECFB pic.twitter.com/2B63eTmoTA
More on Ground Stop
SCHEDULE UPDATE 📆 Saturday’s men’s basketball game against Cornell in Ithaca, N. Y. has been postponed due to the nationwide ground stoppage. A makeup date is being discussed and will be announced at a later time. 📰https://t.co/jCEOZI6tPP
Here’s the latest: Operations are slowly returning to normal this morning. Planes are pushing back, taxiing, and taking off, and it is safe to fly. We are in close coordination with the airlines to support the ongoing recovery. You will continue to see some delays and…
There are currently 3,100 airborne aircraft bound for US airports amid nationwide ground stop. No additional aircraft are taking off at this time. pic.twitter.com/GGqfb8QXhP
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 ATC.
Yes, this is exactly what leadership under Trump looks like: complete incompetence, zero transparency, and an administration that can’t even keep our airports running. A masterclass in failure. https://t.co/YN85MrvMEV
My team is in contact with the FAA about this nationwide ground stop as we monitor the situation. Technology issues related to how planes communicate through primary frequencies, backup frequencies, and other issues will be something the Commerce Committee will be reviewing.
You’ve literally controlled Congress for the past two years. And apparently, there’s always been money for vanity projects. But none to fix our air traffic control system? Perhaps Trump should prioritize aviation safety over his pathetic Arch. https://t.co/MiiasllRiM
The FAA-mandated ground stop has been lifted and we are safely resuming flights. We encourage you to check the Delta app or https://t.co/19TGEJUCaj for flight status and the latest updates. Thank you for your understanding as we work as quickly as possible to fully restore…
“With a brand new state of the art system, we wouldn't have these outages… At 8:15 tonight, eastern time, we've opened up the air space…" Secretary Mullin & Secretary Duffy provide an update on the FAA National Ground Stop. pic.twitter.com/twTyQ9UJQ0
Secretary Mullin and Secretary Duffy Brief Members of the Press on the FAA Ground Stop https://t.co/uyvQ5bVOvb
We are working to fully restore operations following the nationwide ground stop. Flexible options are available to move flights at no extra cost. If your travel plans allow, we encourage you to move your flight to Monday, Nov. 16 or later. To check your flight status, visit the…