FAA says a damaged database file caused morning problems with pilot notice system
The Federal Aviation Administration says the outage that kept planes from flying early Wednesday was due to a corrupted file in its system.
Agency officials said it is still reviewing the debacle, but it wanted to provide the update.
“Our preliminary work has traced the outage to a damaged database file. At this time, there is no evidence of a cyber attack,” the FAA tweeted late Wednesday.
CNN reports the agency is trying to figure out how the file in the Notice to Air Missions system, which warns pilots of potential hazards, was damaged, but the problem was discovered in the overnight hours ahead of the morning headache.
Officials said a corrupt file was discovered in the backup system. A reboot of the system took longer than hoped for and ran into the morning rush, forcing a ground stop around 7:30 a.m. Wednesday.
The situation was a headache for travelers and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, who oversees the FAA and had prodded airlines to improve their own performance.
Some lawmakers said the episode underscored the need for infrastructure upgrades at the FAA and a permanent leader at the agency.
