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U.S. FAA says “unintentionally deleted files“ prompted computer outage

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2023-01-20T00:50:39Z

Passengers wait for the resumption of flights at O’Hare International Airport after the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) had ordered airlines to pause all domestic departures due to a system outage, in Chicago, Illinois, U.S., January 11, 2023. REUTERS/Jim Vondruska

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said on Thursday a preliminary review found that contract personnel unintentionally deleted files prompting a nationwide groundstop on Jan. 11 that disrupted more than 11,000 flights.

The FAA said the issue occurred while personnel were working “to correct synchronization between the live primary database and a backup database” and the FAA added that it “has so far found no evidence of a cyber-attack or malicious intent.”

The FAA said it has made necessary repairs to the system “and has taken steps to make the pilot message system “more resilient.”