The FAA’s nationwide ground stop — the longest since 9/11 — was caused by an overloaded, decades-old time-division multiplexing analog system, not the agency’s new SMART AI tool, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said. Officials now point to what was supposed to be routine copper-to-fiber wiring work at a remote facility; the WSJ reports contractor L3Harris may have installed a faulty router, and Duffy says he will hold people accountable. More than 4,000 flights were canceled Saturday after 8,000-plus on Friday, and with planes and crews out of position, recovery could take days. The episode has renewed attention on the FAA’s unfinished NextGen modernization, aging copper wiring, and reliance on floppy disks; a September GAO report warned the agency lacks a lifecycle cost estimate or master schedule. Duffy has pressed Congress for $50 billion, and the White House has asked for $30.1 billion more in aviation infrastructure funding, including $10.1 billion for air traffic control technology.
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