1 day ago
FAA Telecom Outage Disrupts 7,000 Flights Across Northeast
A communications problem disrupted airplane traffic in the northeastern United States on Monday.
Air traffic controllers use these communications systems to coordinate flights safely.
About 7,000 flights were delayed or canceled, and more than 100 were sent to other airports.
Arrivals were stopped for several hours at major airports around New York, Philadelphia, and Boston.
The first problem involved a failed communications circuit.
Workers also discovered that a backup fiber cable was broken.
Officials said most services were repaired later in the afternoon.
The outage lasted about eight hours at Newark Airport.
Investigators disagreed about which construction operation caused the damaged cable.
A telecommunications failure disrupted FAA air-traffic-control operations across the Northeast on Monday.
About 7,000 flights were delayed or canceled, with more than 100 diverted, according to FlightAware.
Arrivals were halted for hours at major airports including Newark, LaGuardia, JFK, Philadelphia, and Boston.
The outage involved a failed primary circuit and a break in a backup fiber line near New Jersey.
Officials said services were restored later Monday, but clearing the resulting flight backlog would take time.
- Who
- The Federal Aviation Administration, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford, airlines, airports, and construction and telecommunications companies were involved.
- What
- A telecommunications outage disrupted air-traffic-control operations, causing approximately 7,000 flight delays and cancellations and halting arrivals at several airports.
- Where
- The disruption affected the U.S. Northeast, including airports in New York, New Jersey, Philadelphia, and Boston; damaged lines were in New Jersey.
- When
- Monday, beginning around 9:45 a.m.; services were restored later that afternoon after about eight hours at Newark.
- Why
- A primary communications circuit failed, while a backup fiber line was also broken; officials disputed which construction operation caused the physical damage.
Initial Official Account
Rail and Contractor Response
Who damaged the fiber line?
Initial Official Account
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said an Amtrak construction crew accidentally cut a fiber line near New Brunswick, New Jersey.
Rail and Contractor Response
Amtrak denied responsibility. New Jersey Transit said a crew had been working about 10 feet from utility markings and was still determining whether Verizon or the contractor had made those markings.
Reason for the flight stoppage
Initial Official Account
FAA officials said the failed primary circuit and broken backup fiber line left air-traffic-control communications impaired, so flights were paused to protect safety.
Rail and Contractor Response
No organization disputed the safety-based flight pauses, but the parties differed over the construction activity responsible for the damaged telecommunications line.
Key facts
- Estimated disruption
- About 7,000 flights were delayed or canceled, according to FlightAware.
- Start time
- The disruption began at approximately 9:45 a.m. Monday.
- Affected airports
- Arrivals were halted at Newark, LaGuardia, JFK, Philadelphia, Boston, and two smaller New York-area airports.
- Diversions
- More than 100 flights were diverted to other airports.
- Technical problems
- A failed primary circuit and a break in a backup fiber line disrupted FAA communications.
- Restoration
- Newark resumed arrivals after about eight hours; LaGuardia and Philadelphia also resumed operations later Monday.
- Backup repair estimate
- Bryan Bedford estimated that repairing the backup fiber line could take about 13 hours.
- Responsibility dispute
- Sean Duffy initially blamed an Amtrak construction crew, while Amtrak denied responsibility and New Jersey Transit said the cause was still being determined.
Quotes
Bryan Bedford
FAA Administrator who explained the telecommunications failure and backup fiber damage
“When it went to flip into the backup, we discovered that the backup fiber had a break, and that fiber break is probably 13 hours to repair. It's massive, I'm told. Meanwhile, we've got the new circuit ready to install now.”
firstpost.com
NDTV
“The timing is absolutely horrible and I’m very sorry for the delays and cancellations”
firstpost.com
Sean Duffy
US Transportation Secretary
“An Amtrak construction crew accidentally cut into a fiber line in New Jersey which caused a telecom outage and forced FAA to pause flights in the Northeast.”
NDTV
Sources
Related news
FAA Outage Disrupts New York Airports During UN Week
FAA Outage Disrupts Northeast Flights, Ground Stops Hit Three Airports
Fiber Cut Disrupts Flights at Busy East Coast Airports
Cut Fiber-Optic Cable Disrupts Thousands of US Flights
Heavy Rain and Flooding Delay Nearly 4,000 US Flights
Second UK Air Traffic Control Failure Sparks Renewed Resignation Calls
