FAA restores flight system after nationwide ground stop

WELCOME TO NBC NEWS DAILY. WE BEGIN WITH THE NATIONAL AIR GROUND STOP NOW LIFTED FLIGHTS ARE GRADUALLY RETURNING TO NORMAL AFTER THE FAA STOPPED ALL DOMESTIC COMMERCIAL FLIGHTS FROM TAKING OFF AFTER A CENTRAL FLIGHT SYSTEM WENT DOWN THIS MORNING. THAT’S RIGHT. THE OUTAGE PREVENTED PILOTS FROM RECEIVING EMERGENCY ALERTS AND LEARNING OF POTENTIAL HAZARDS. NOW, THOUSANDS OF DOMESTIC FLIGHTS ARE SLOWLY RESUMING. AFTER LONG DELAYS, NBC NEWS CORRESPONDENT TOM COSTELLO JOINING US NOW TO HELP US BREAK THIS ALL DOWN, SO, TOM FIRST. DO WE HAVE ANY SENSE OF WHAT CAUSED THIS OUTAGE? AND WHEN DO WE THINK

THINGS WILL RETURN TO NORMAL? SO THE FIRST QUESTION WE HAD THIS MORNING WAS? WAS THIS A HACK SOMEHOW DID THE SYSTEM SELF FOR A CYBER ATTACK, LAW ENFORCEMENT SOURCES SAY. SO FAR, THE FBI SEES NO SIGN OF THAT. SO WE DON’T KNOW WHY THIS COMPUTER SYSTEM. THIS IS CALLED THE NOTAM SYSTEM, THE NOTICE TO AIR MISSIONS SYSTEM THAT PROVIDES PILOTS WITH INFORMATION ABOUT THE AIRPORTS ARE GOING TO IS THERE A RUNWAY CLOSED IS THEIR CONSTRUCTION EQUIPMENT SOMEWHERE NEAR THE AIRPORT? NEED TO KNOW ABOUT WHAT ABOUT MILITARY AIRSPACE THAT NOTAM COMPUTER WENT DOWN. WE THINK IN

THE FIVE A.M. EAST COAST TIME TIME, OUR AND THEN AS IT BECAME EVIDENT THAT THIS WAS NOT WORKING, AND PLANES COULD NOT TAKE OFF. ESSENTIALLY THE FAA HIT THE PAUSE

BUTTON ON ALL COMMERCIAL DEPARTURES, STARTING AT SEVEN A.M. UNTIL NINE A.M. SO THEN THEY LIFTED IT. THE SYSTEM IS BACK UP AND RUNNING, BUT THEY NOW NEED TO DO A FULL FORENSICS ANALYSIS TO DETERMINE WHY THIS COMPUTER WENT DOWN BECAUSE THE RIPPLE EFFECT WILL BE SIGNIFICANT THROUGHOUT THE DAY. TOM I THINK PEOPLE ARE PROBABLY WAKING UP TO THIS NEWS THIS MORNING THINKING SOMETHING ELSE. THAT MEANS

THAT MY TRIP ISN’T GOING TO HAPPEN THE WAY IT WAS PLANNED. WHETHER IT’S WHETHER WHETHER IT’S AIRLINE STAFFING, AND NOW THERE’S A FULL GROUND STOP. HOW BAD IS THIS FOR AIRLINES AND AIRPORTS, ESPECIALLY AFTER ALL THAT MESS WE JUST EXPERIENCED DURING THE HOLIDAYS? WELL IT’S NOT GREAT, BUT BUT LISTEN, LET’S BE CLEAR. THIS IS THE SLOWEST TRAVEL TIME OF THE YEAR BECAUSE WE’RE DONE WITH THE HOLIDAYS AND WE HAVEN’T HIT SPRING BREAK JANUARY IS USUALLY PRETTY SLOW. WE HAVE PRETTY GOOD WEATHER TODAY EXCEPT OUT IN CALIFORNIA. SNOW COMING INTO DENVER, BUT FOR THE MOST PART,

WHETHER IT’S NOT A PROBLEM , SO THIS IS NOT IDEAL UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES, BUT IT PROBABLY WAS THE BEST TIME OF THE YEAR FOR THIS TO HAPPEN, AND NOW THEY’VE GOT TO FIGURE OUT WHAT THE PROBLEM IS. LET’S BE CLEAR. THIS IS NOT THE AIRLINE’S FAULT , RIGHT. SO IF YOU AS A PASSENGER HAVE HAD YOUR FLIGHT DELAYED OR CANCELED, SOME AIRLINES ARE NOW WAIVING CHANGE FEES. BUT THEY’RE NOT GOING TO PAY TO PUT YOU UP IN A HOTEL AND I’M NOT GOING TO REIMBURSE YOU FOR YOUR FOOD BECAUSE IT’S NOT THEIR FAULT. IT’S THE

FAA IS FAULT. IT’S AN ACT OF GOD. BUT THE NUMBERS ARE PRETTY SIGNIFICANT RIGHT NOW. WE’RE LOOKING AT 6700 DELAYS CANCELATIONS RIGHT NOW. 1000 IN THE UNITED STATES. LET’S TAKE A LOOK AT THE MISERY MAP REALLY QUICKLY AND AS YOU WOULD EXPECT , IT STARTS ON THE EAST COAST AND ROLLS WEST BECAUSE THE EAST COAST IS WORTH STARTED. NEW YORK CITY D C. MIAMI CHARLOTTE, ATLANTA, CHICAGO AND THEN ROLLING ACROSS TO DENVER AND TO L, A AND TO SAN FRANCISCO, BUT THEY’VE GOT THEIR OWN PROBLEMS OUT THERE WITH THE WEATHER. AND THEN THE LOOK AT

FLIGHT RADAR 24 THE LOOK AT ALL FLIGHTS IN THE SKIES RIGHT NOW, AND THEY ARE STARTING TO PICK UP. BUT YOU CANNOT SIMPLY, YOU KNOW, RELEASED THE FLOODGATES AND LET EVERY SINGLE PLANE GO AT ONCE THIS IS GONNA TAKE A WHILE TO BLEED INTO THE SYSTEM. ALL OF THESE PLANES AND ALL THESE FLIGHTS THAT WERE SITTING ON THE RAMP WAITING FOR THE GO AHEAD AND JUST FOR SOME CONTEXT, HAMID SAID EARLIER. THIS ISN’T SOMETHING THAT’S HAPPENED SINCE THE 9 11 WHERE YOU SEE A FULL