Duffy attributes FAA ground stop to possible contractor error, faulty equipment

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said federal investigators examined what could have caused the major disruption in the nation's air traffic control system and they have attributed the problems to a possible contractor installation error or potential faulty network equipment.

The problem surfaced during a technology upgrade designed to replace older copper connections with faster fiber-optic connections. During the transition, a router being replaced began overwhelming other routers across the network, disrupting communications with aircraft and radar systems.

Duffy explained that a contractor had been performing routine maintenance at a remote Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) location, switching telecommunications lines from old copper wire to fiber.

Duffy said investigators were working to determine whether the disruption resulted from human error or faulty equipment.

"What we're working to determine was whether we had incompetence, meaning was it user error, installer error from L3Harris, or did they install a faulty router?" he said.

Duffy said on Friday that much of the air traffic control equipment is outdated.

The transportation secretary also explained how the malfunction affected the broader network, saying the router "started flooding other routers in our air traffic control system."

According to Duffy, the system experienced more than 1,000 connection attempts every four to five seconds, contributing to the widespread disruption.

"We haven't determined what the fault was," Duffy said, adding that officials had not yet established whether the contractor's work or the equipment itself was responsible.