FAA Says Computer and Human Error Caused Flight Disruptions

Delayed or canceled flights seemed to be the norm in December and January last year. First, there was Southwest Airlines’ “epic screwup” in December that caused more than 16,000 flights to be canceled due to program errors. Then, on January 11, a system outage caused disruption for more than 11,000 flights in the US. The acting head of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Billy Nolen testified on Feb. 15, telling Congress what went wrong and how the agency is working toward fixing the problem.

FAA Testifies Before Congress

Human error caused a malfunction in the system, according to the FAA acting administrator, Nolen. “A preliminary FAA review of last week’s outage of the Notice to Air Missions [NOTAM] system determined that contract personnel unintentionally deleted files while working to correct synchronization between live primary database and a backup database,” according to a statement from the agency.

Nolen explained that the January flight disruption was caused in part with how the primary and backup systems synchronize. When the contractor personnel unintentionally deleted a corrupt file from the primary, the error went to the backup, which made that system unusable as well. Last month, in an effort to prevent more malfunctions, the FAA revoked access to the pilot messaging database where the error occurred. This file is used to provide flight crews and pilots with critical safety notices.

One of the fixes the FAA introduced was a delay between the systems. “We have instituted a one-hour synchronization delay between the primary database and the backup database,” Nolen said. “We believe the fixes that we have in place today will prevent a recurrence of the event we saw on Jan. 11.” In a statement, the agency also explained it “now requires at least two individuals to be present during the maintenance of the NOTAM system, including one federal manager.”

Billy Nolen (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

NOTAM has two interdependent systems: the 30-year-old U.S. NOTAM, and the newer Federal system. In 2019, modernization of the newer version began “and is scheduled to discontinue the legacy U.S. NOTAM System by mid-2025,” the letter explained. “Phase two of the NOTAM system modernization is planned to be completed in 2030.”

However, since December there have been three near collisions or safety issues that the FAA is also investigating. In December, a plane leaving Maui briefly plummeted. On January 13, a Delta Airlines plane almost had a collision with an American Airlines flight that seems to have been on the wrong runway at Kennedy International Airport. The Delta pilot had been forced to slam on the brakes to prevent a crash. And, on February 5, in Austin, TX, a FedEx cargo plane had a close call with a Southwest passenger flight; the two aircraft passed within 100 feet of each other. Despite these near misses, Mr. Nolen insists “we are experiencing the safest period in aviation history, but we cannot take this for granted.”

There are those who argue that some of these issues can be attributed to President Joe Biden for not choosing an official administrator to the FAA. Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) said:

“There must be accountability when an agency is not using taxpayer funds efficiently. And that of course starts with an accountable leader. Now in his third year as secretary of transportation, Secretary [Pete] Buttigieg has failed to deliver any meaningful reform at the FAA.”

Cruz continued, saying, the problems at the FAA are “emblematic of a culture afraid to innovate, stuck operating inefficiently – and illustrative of why President Biden needs to choose an administrator for the FAA with a proven ability to manage change within large organizations and with the requisite aviation and safety experience.”

The January 11 outage was the first nationwide ground stop since the 911 terrorist attacks.