FAA lifts nationwide ground stop after identifying outdated radar overload
The Federal Aviation Administration lifted the nationwide ground stop on November 13, 2026 after officials said an overload of outdated radar equipment caused the telecommunications outage and that no cyberattack was detected. The announcement was reported on November 14, 2026. The stop had been ordered earlier that day when a temporary telecommunications failure disrupted radar and radio communications at air traffic control centers, grounding all flights across the United States and stranding tens of thousands of passengers.
Initial reports linked the outage to a possible issue with the newly deployed SMART AI tool, but officials later focused on the aging equipment. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy and Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin said no evidence of a cyberattack had been found.
