From The Verge · TC Sottek · · 1m 10s
A cut cable disrupted hundreds of flights across the US
Construction crews accidentally severed a critical Verizon fiber line, grounding flights across the Northeast.
In brief
Construction crews accidentally severed a critical Verizon fiber line, grounding flights across the Northeast. A single severed telecommunications cable can cascade into massive travel disruptions affecting thousands of passengers. Originally reported by The Verge.
A cable cut grounds hundreds of flights
Construction crews in New Jersey accidentally severed a Verizon fiber cable used for air traffic control on Monday, causing hundreds of flight cancellations and delays across the Northeast.
Ground stops hit all major NYC airports
The outage caused ground stops at all three major New York City airports as the FAA discovered a circuit failure linked to the severed fiber cable.
Blame game over who cut the line
Verizon blamed construction contractors. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said Amtrak cut it, but Amtrak blamed a New Jersey Transit contractor instead.
“This incident occurred on New Jersey Transit property and involved a New Jersey Transit contractor.”
Over 1,000 flights cancelled nationwide
By Monday evening, more than 1,000 flights were cancelled across the US as the outage rippled through the aviation system.
Cable repaired but delays persist
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said telecom lines were repaired and Northeast airport operations resumed, but clearing existing delays would take time.
“the telecom lines have been repaired, and all airport operations in the Northeast are resuming”
Here's the gist
A single severed telecommunications cable can cascade into massive travel disruptions affecting thousands of passengers.
