Officials are still trying to figure out what exactly caused the FAA system to crash Wednesday, but traced it to a corrupted file. In a statement late Wednesday, the FAA said it is continuing to investigate the failure and is “taking all necessary steps to prevent this type of failure from occurring again.” “Our previous work traced the failure to a corrupted database file. At this time, there is no evidence of a cyberattack,” the FAA said. The FAA is still trying to determine whether any individual or “regular input” to the database is responsible for the corrupted file, a government official familiar with the investigation into the NOTAM system failure told CNN. Another source , familiar with the FAA operation, described on Wednesday how the failure occurred. When air traffic control officials realized Tuesday night that they had a computer problem, they came up with a plan, the source said, to reboot the system if it would have the fewest flights early Wednesday morning. But the plan and the failure ultimately led to massive flight delays and an unprecedented order to ground all planes across the country. The computer system that crashed was the central database for of all NOTAMs (Aviation Mission Notices) across the country.These notices notify pilots of problems along their route and at their destination. it has a backup that officials switched to when problems arose with the main system, according to the source. FAA officials told reporters early Wednesday that the problem occurred at 3:00 p.m. ET on Tuesday. Officials eventually found the corrupted file in the main NOTAM system, a source told CNN. A corrupted file was also found in the backup system. FAA officials decided to shut down and reboot the main NOTAM system Tuesday night into Wednesday — a major decision because the reboot could take about 90 minutes, according to the source. They decided to perform the reboot early Wednesday before air traffic starts flying on the East Coast to minimize disruption to flights. “They thought they would get ahead of the hype,” the source said. During this morning’s process, the FAA told reporters that the system is “beginning to come back online,” but said it will take time to resolve the issue. According to the source, the system “recovered, but was not fully reporting the information required for a safe flight, and it appeared to take longer.” That’s when the FAA announced a nationwide shutdown around 7:30 a.m. ET, halting all domestic flights.Aircraft queued for take-off were held up before entering the runways.Flight already in the air were verbally informed of safety observations by air traffic controllers who keep static electronic or paper records of active observations on their desks.Minister Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg ordered an after-action review and also said there was “no direct evidence or indication” that the problem was a cyber attack. The source said the NOTAM system is an example of an outdated infrastructure that needs an overhaul. budget issues and budget flexibility this technical update has been delayed,” the source said. “I believe now they’ll actually find the money to do it.” “The FAA’s infrastructure is much more than just bricks and mortar.” Investments in the agency are expected to be reviewed by Congress this year as the five-year term of the FAA Reauthorization Act, signed into law in 2018, expires.
Officials are still trying to figure out what exactly caused the FAA system to crash Wednesday, but traced it to a corrupted file.
In a statement late Wednesday, the FAA said it is continuing to investigate the crash and is “taking all necessary steps to prevent this type of failure from occurring again.”
“Our previous work traced the failure to a corrupted database file. At this time, there is no evidence of a cyber attack,” the FAA said.
The FAA is still trying to determine whether a single person or a “routine login” to the database is responsible for the corrupted file, a government official familiar with the investigation into the NOTAM system failure told CNN.
Another source familiar with the FAA operation described on Wednesday how the failure occurred.
When air traffic control officials realized they had a computer problem late Tuesday, they came up with a plan, the source said, to reboot the system when it would least disrupt air travel early Wednesday morning.
But the plan and failure ultimately led to massive flight delays and an unprecedented order to ground all aircraft departures across the country.
The computer system that failed was the central database for all NOTAMs (Notice to Air Missions) across the country. These notifications notify pilots of problems on their route and at their destination. According to the source, it has a backup that officials fall back on when there are problems with the main system.
FAA officials told reporters early Wednesday that the problem occurred at 3:00 p.m. ET on Tuesday.
Officials eventually found the corrupted file in the main NOTAM system, a source told CNN. A corrupted file was also found in the backup system.
FAA officials decided to shut down and reboot the main NOTAM system overnight Tuesday into Wednesday — a major decision because the reboot could take about 90 minutes, according to the source.
They decided to do the restart early Wednesday, before air traffic starts flying on the East Coast, to minimize disruption to flights.
“They thought they would get ahead of the rush,” the source said.
During this morning’s routine, the FAA told reporters that the system was “beginning to come back online,” but said it would take time to resolve the issue.
According to the source, the system “recovered, but was not fully outputting the appropriate information required for a safe flight, and it appears to have taken longer to do so.”
That’s when the FAA issued a nationwide shutdown around 7:30 a.m. ET, halting all domestic flights.
Planes in line for take-off were detained before entering the runway. Flights already in the air were verbally informed of safety alerts by controllers who keep static electronic or paper records of active alerts on their desks.
Transport Secretary Pete Buttigieg ordered an investigation into the incident and also said there was “no direct evidence or indication” that it was a cyber attack.
The source said the NOTAM system is an example of an aging infrastructure that needs a major overhaul.
“Due to budget issues and budget flexibility, this technical update has been delayed,” the source said. “I guess now they’ll actually find the money to do it.”
“The FAA’s infrastructure is much more than just bricks and mortar.”
Congress plans to consider defunding the agency this year when the five-year FAA Reauthorization Act, signed in 2018, expires.
A corrupted file led to an FAA shutdown
Source link A corrupted file led to an FAA shutdown