U.S. FAA says 'unintentionally deleted files' prompted computer outage


FILE PHOTO Passengers wait for the resumption of flights at OHare International Airport after the Federal Aviation Administration FAA had ordered airlines to pause all domestic departures due to a system outage in Chicago Illinois U.S. January 11 2023. REUTERSJim Vondruska

FILE PHOTO: Passengers wait for the resumption of flights at O'Hare International Airport after the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) had ordered airlines to pause all domestic departures due to a system outage, in Chicago, Illinois, U.S., January 11, 2023. REUTERS/Jim Vondruska

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said on Thursday a preliminary review found that contract personnel "unintentionally deleted files" disrupting a key computer system and prompting a nationwide groundstop on Jan. 11 that disrupted more than 11,000 flights.

The FAA said the issue occurred while personnel were working "to correct synchronization between the live primary database and a backup database." The FAA said it "has so far found no evidence of a cyber-attack or malicious intent."

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