Airlines
FAA Blames Damaged Database File for Notam System Outage
Investigations into the latest air transport system meltdown in the U.S. begin as traffic flows return to normal after a software glitch grounds flights.
Newark Airport in the New York City area experienced significant disruption.
© Newark International Airport

The FAA has determined that a software glitch—specifically a damaged database file—caused the outage of the agency’s notam system on Wednesday morning, leading to the grounding of all commercial flights in the U.S. for about an hour and a half. The Department of Transportation has launched an investigation and members of Congress have vowed to do the same as they prepare to deliberate over the next FAA Reauthorization bill.

“The FAA is continuing a thorough review to determine the root cause of the Notice to Air Missions (notam) system outage,” said the agency in a statement. “Our preliminary work has traced the outage to a damaged database file. At this time, there is no evidence of a cyberattack. The FAA is working diligently to further pinpoint the causes of this issue and take all needed steps to prevent this kind of disruption from happening again.”