Flight cancellations in the USA: “Accidentally deleted files”

Last week, US authorities blocked airspace nationwide for hours. The reason was probably a breakdown during maintenance work. According to flight control, there is no evidence of an attack, but it is still being investigated.

Human error is apparently responsible for the failure of the communications system in US air traffic last week. A report by the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) states that an employee of a contractor “unintentionally deleted crucial files” while working on the computer system’s databases. This error paralyzed the system and caused thousands of planes to be grounded across the country.

After the failure, US President Biden commissioned the Department of Transportation to investigate the breakdown in detail. The US Congress had also requested an investigative report.

Thousands of delays

The air traffic control authority said there was no evidence of a cyber attack or intentional disruption of air traffic, but they would continue to investigate. The agency also said it plans to make the communications system less prone to failure.

Last week, the so-called “Notice to Air Missions system” – NOTAM for short – failed. Pilots and crews could no longer be informed about hazards, changes to airport facilities or risks on flight routes. The FAA then stopped all air traffic for safety reasons. Around 1,000 flights were canceled and more than 10,000 flight connections were delayed.