With the terrible flight issues with Southwest Airlines during the recent holidays in the rearview mirror, there now has been another airline shutdown, which the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is calling an “outage.” An overnight computer outage late on 10 January 2023 at the FAA lead to widespread flight delays and disruptions which is now cascading into hundreds of flight delays. This just like a few weeks ago.[1]
The FAA said the “outage” was in the Notice to Air Missions system, or NOTAM, which provides pilots and flight crews with essential safety information.
- The FAA ordered all US airlines to pause domestic departures shortly before 7:20 am. EST, Wednesday.
- As of 8:50 am. EST, normal air traffic was "resuming gradually across the United States," according to an agency update.
- More than 4,900 flights within, into, or out of the United States were delayed, according to the tracking website FlightAware, and over 860 flights were canceled as of 9:50 am. EST.
|
“I’ve been flying 53 years. I’ve never heard the system go down like this," said a former airline pilot and aviation safety expert. "So, something unusual happened.” |
What is a NOTAM? A Notice to Air Missions is a notice that provides pilots and other flight personnel with real-time, safety information concerning flight operations and airports. NOTAMs alert of potential hazards and conditions that can impact flights – from runway construction or possible icing to a change in an aeronautical facility or flight service. Pilots are required to consult NOTAMs before starting every flight. If that system is down, pilots cannot receive vital flight information.[2]
The FAA explains that a NOTAM “states the abnormal status of a component of the National Airspace System (NAS), not the normal status.” The federal agency adds that NOTAMs are, “not known far enough in advance to be publicized by other means.” The NOTAM system was telephone-based in the past, with pilots calling flight service stations for the information, but it has now moved online. Ah, technology.
What time did this happen? The NOTAM system failed at 8:28 pm EST on Tuesday, according to FAA advisories. In efforts to keep departures flying overnight, the FAA used a telephone hotline. But the telephone system was overwhelmed as daytime traffic increased. The stop order early on the 11th impacted nearly all commercial and shipping flights. Some medical flights were able to get clearance and we have to assume that the military was not affected. An US Air Force spokesperson, confirmed to the AP that the military has its own NOTAMs system that is separate from the FAA's system.
Was this a cyber attack? Out dated software? Insider Threat? Bottom line: flights in the US were grounded......again. Red Sky Alliance is a Cyber Threat Analysis and Intelligence Service organization. For questions, comments or assistance, please contact the office directly at 1-844-492-7225, or feedback@wapacklabs.com
Weekly Cyber Intelligence Briefings:
- Reporting: https://www. redskyalliance. org/
- Website: https://www. wapacklabs. com/
- LinkedIn: https://www. linkedin. com/company/64265941
Weekly Cyber Intelligence Briefings:
REDSHORTS - Weekly Cyber Intelligence Briefings
https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/5504229295967742989
[1] https://www.usatoday.com/story/travel/airline-news/2023/01/11/notam-meaning-faa-system-outage/11031274002/
[2] https://www.faa.gov/about/initiatives/notam/what_is_a_notam
Comments