Grounded flights were the result of employees deleting critical files, FAA says

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The Federal Aviation Administration now says a contractor inadvertently deleted an important file, causing a computer outage last week that halted air traffic nationwide.

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AILSA CHANG, Hosted by:

And here’s an update on that computer system outage that temporarily halted all airline flights across the country last week. Turns out I deleted it by mistake. The FAA says the accident was unintentional, but many in the aviation industry say the accident exposed a broader problem with the FAA’s aging technology. NPR’s David Schaper reports.

DAVID SCHAPER, BYLINE: The FAA said an investigation into last week’s outage revealed that a contractor unintentionally deleted files in an attempt to fix a database problem. In a statement, officials said they found no evidence of a cyberattack or malicious intent, adding that the FAA had made necessary repairs to the system and taken steps to make the NOTAM system more resilient. Short for Notification to Mission. These are important messages that warn the pilot of potential hazards along the flight path. A system failure forced the FAA to impose a ground stop on all departing flights last Wednesday morning. This was the first nationwide ground stop since September 11, 2001. Despite lasting approximately 90 minutes, the incident forced airlines to cancel more than 1,300 flights for the day and delay more than 11,000 flights. Many in the aviation industry also say the computer failure highlights how much of the FAA’s infrastructure is overloaded and outdated.

(Soundbite from archived recording)

Scott Kirby: I think this should be a wake-up call to all of us in aviation – many of us in aviation have been saying this for a long time, the FAA needs more resources. about it.

SHAPER: United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby is having a conference call with reporters and analysts on Wednesday.

(Soundbite from archived recording)

Kirby: The hard truth is that the FAA’s budget is substantially smaller than it was 20 years ago. But the amount of work they are asked to do is much higher. So they had to rob Peter to get him to pay.

Shaper: Kirby and other aviation industry leaders are calling on Congress and the White House for better funding and support for the FAA. The computer breakdown draws attention not only to the FAA’s aging technology and infrastructure, but also to NOTAM itself and how notices are distributed and formatted.

MARK ZEE: Unfortunately, their history dates back to the early 1900s.

Shaper: Mark Zee is a former European airline pilot and air traffic controller. According to him, NOTAM is confusingly typed in all caps and filled with jargon acronyms and abbreviations.

ZEE: It’s a mess. And it’s a great word to describe it. it’s a mess. It’s a huge mess.

Shaper: Gee also says pilots have to review hundreds of messages before each flight, but only two or three are really relevant. He and others in the industry are working with aviation authorities around the world to reform his NOTAM system. David Schaper, NPR News.

(Nicole Ray Song Soundbite, “Hold On”) Transcript courtesy of NPR, Copyright NPR.

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