Officials said a routine upgrade of copper wiring to fibre optic by contractor L3Harris was responsible for bringing US air traffic to a halt on Friday, after connection problems disrupted communications and radar. Duffy said they did not believe nefarious activity was involved, while Bedford said there was an equipment issue and no evidence of anything nefarious or AI-related.
The problem began in a remote location where L3Harris was replacing copper wiring with fibre-optic cable. A router being swapped began flooding other routers in the air traffic control system with more than 1000 connection attempts every four to five seconds, overwhelming the system and disrupting radar and communications. Officials said the decision to order the ground stop was taken out of an abundance of caution. Duffy said, “When we see that, your safety is paramount. We shut down the airspace.”
The incident has put the spotlight back on America's ageing air traffic control infrastructure, which still relies in part on copper wires and floppy discs. The FAA earlier this month announced plans to end floppy disc use by the end of 2028. Bedford described the system as “1G”, no longer in production and costing about $US1 billion a year to sustain.
Bedford said about 30,000 of the day's 50,000 scheduled flights had already landed or were airborne when the ground stop was ordered at 3.45pm Washington time. Of the remaining 20,000 flights, 12,000 had to be cancelled, 9000 commercial and 3000 private. He said another 4000 to 5000 flights were expected to be cancelled on Saturday, with the system expected to recover by Sunday.
Officials said it was not yet known whether the problem was caused by contractor incompetence, a wrong configuration, or a faulty new router. L3Harris said it has been modernising the communications infrastructure behind the National Airspace System in close coordination with the FAA, with more than 70 per cent of planned copper to fibre conversions completed, and was supporting the investigation.
Congress appropriated $US12.5 billion last year for upgrades, but Duffy had already announced that the Trump administration wanted $US30 billion more. Duffy now wants as much as $US50 billion. “Everyone says they want to do it, and the president is pushing it, but we don’t get the resources,” he said.
Democratic congressman Robert Garcia, who is expected to chair the House Oversight Committee next year, called for “full public transparency” about what happened and said answers were needed to ensure systems and technology were funded and upgraded to ensure public safety. Rebecca Guy, the FAA's acting chief technology officer, said the agency had not realised that a problem at an isolated location could have such wide consequences.
Analysis
Why This Matters
- The shutdown disrupted tens of thousands of passengers and exposed vulnerability in critical national infrastructure.
- It forces a political debate over funding for air traffic control upgrades, with billions of dollars at stake and a possible change in House leadership.
- The reliance on decades-old technology (1G, floppy discs) raises ongoing questions about safety and reliability.
Background
The US air traffic control system relies on a communications network that still uses copper wiring and floppy discs. The incident occurred during a planned upgrade to fibre optic, which contractor L3Harris says is 70 per cent complete. Congress appropriated $12.5 billion last year for upgrades, but the Trump administration had requested $30 billion more, and Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy now seeks up to $50 billion.
Key Perspectives
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy: Said the problem was an equipment issue, not a nefarious act or AI-related, and called for more funding to upgrade the system, blaming Congress for not providing enough resources.
FAA administrator Bryan Bedford: Apologised for the disruption, confirmed thousands of flights cancelled, and described the system as “1G” and unsustainable.
Democratic congressman Robert Garcia: Demanded “full public transparency” and said systems must be funded and upgraded to ensure safety.
Contractor L3Harris: Said it is cooperating with the investigation, has completed 70 per cent of planned copper-to-fibre conversions, and takes the matter seriously.
What to Watch
- The outcome of the FAA and L3Harris investigation into whether the failure was caused by contractor error, misconfiguration, or a faulty router.
- Whether Congress approves the additional $30–50 billion requested for upgrades, especially with a shift in House control expected next year.
- Any further system instability that could accelerate the timeline for replacing outdated components (e.g., floppy discs by 2028).
Checked
12 claims in this story checked against 1 source: 12 supported.
Show each claim
- SupportedOfficials said the copper-to-fibre upgrade was responsible for bringing US air traffic to a halt.Brisbane Times - Latest News: “A routine upgrade to an old copper wire communications network in a remote area of the United States was responsible for bringing the nation’s air traffic to a halt, officials said.”
- SupportedA router being replaced during the upgrade flooded other routers and contributed to the nationwide ground stop.Brisbane Times - Latest News: ““That router that was being replaced as we switched from copper to fibre, it started flooding other routers in our air traffic control system,” he said.”
- SupportedOfficials said they had no evidence of nefarious activity or an AI-related cause.Brisbane Times - Latest News: ““We see zero evidence of anything nefarious and no evidence of anything AI-related. We have an equipment issue,” he said.”
- SupportedThe router generated more than 1,000 connection attempts every four to five seconds.Brisbane Times - Latest News: ““We had over 1000 connection attempts every four to five seconds.””
- SupportedThe connection attempts overwhelmed the system, causing communications issues and disrupting radar feeds.Brisbane Times - Latest News: “Those connection attempts began to overwhelm the system, leading to communications issues with airplanes, and disrupted radar feeds.”
- SupportedDuffy said, “When we see that, your safety is paramount. We shut down the airspace.”Brisbane Times - Latest News: ““When we see that, your safety is paramount. We shut down the airspace.””
- SupportedAbout 30,000 of the day’s 50,000 scheduled flights had landed or were airborne by the time the ground stop was ordered at 3.45pm Washington time on Friday.Brisbane Times - Latest News: “He said that by the time the ground stop was ordered at 3.45pm Washington time on Friday (Saturday AEDT), about 30,000 of the day’s 50,000 scheduled flights had already landed or were airborne.”
- SupportedOf the 20,000 remaining flights, 12,000 had to be cancelled: 9,000 commercial and 3,000 private.Brisbane Times - Latest News: “Of the 20,000 remaining, 12,000 had to be cancelled - 9000 commercial flights and 3000 private.”
- SupportedAnother 4,000 to 5,000 flights were expected to be cancelled on Saturday, with the system expected to recover by Sunday.Brisbane Times - Latest News: “There were significant flow-on effects into Saturday, with another 4000 or 5000 flights expected to be cancelled, but the system was expected to recover by Sunday, Bedford said.”
- SupportedOfficials did not yet know whether the initial problem was caused by contractor incompetence, a wrong configuration or a faulty new router.Brisbane Times - Latest News: “Officials said they did not yet know whether the initial problem was caused by contractor incompetence, a wrong configuration or a faulty new router installed in the system.”
- SupportedThe FAA announced plans earlier this month to end floppy-disk use by the end of 2028.Brisbane Times - Latest News: “Earlier this month, the FAA announced plans to end the use of floppy disks by the end of 2028.”
- SupportedBedford described the system as “1G”, said it was no longer in production and said it cost about US$1 billion a year to sustain.Brisbane Times - Latest News: “Bedford said the system was so old (he described it as “1G”) that it was no longer in production and cost about $US1 billion a year just to sustain.”
