Key takeaways:
- The computer glitch that caused the temporary suspension of U.S. domestic airline departures on January 11 was due to a contractor mistakenly and unintentionally deleting files.
- The FAA had already identified damage to a database file as a probable cause of the issue, which resulted in thousands of flight cancellations and delays nationwide.
- The FAA has found no evidence of a cyberattack or malicious intent in the incident.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) released a statement on Thursday confirming that the massive flight disruption that grounded thousands of planes last week was caused by contract personnel who unintentionally deleted files while attempting to correct synchronization between the live primary database and a backup database.
The computer glitch that caused the temporary suspension of U.S. domestic airline departures on January 11 was due to a contractor mistakenly and unintentionally deleting files. During the hours-long outage, pilots were unable to access the Notice to Air Missions (NOTAM) system, which provides information about hazards, changes to airport facilities, and other information that can affect flights.
The FAA had already identified damage to a database file as a probable cause of the issue, which resulted in thousands of flight cancellations and delays nationwide. The NOTAM system sends pilots vital information they need to fly.
The FAA has found no evidence of a cyberattack or malicious intent in the incident. The agency is continuing to investigate the incident and is working to ensure that similar issues do not occur in the future.
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