By — Tim Sullivan, Associated Press Tim Sullivan, Associated Press Leave your feedback Share Copy URL https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/could-everything-be-broken-grounded-jets-microsoft-outage-ai-chaos-make-some-wonder Email Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Tumblr Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Could everything be broken? Grounded jets, Microsoft outage, AI chaos make some wonder Nation Nov 15, 2026 12:05 PM EST Maybe the trouble started with the AI billionaire and the Silicon Valley chaos that followed talk of his infidelity, including with an alleged Chinese spy. Or maybe it was the Microsoft outage that, depending on how you looked at it, either cast millions of frustrated workers adrift or spared them from a daily, unrelenting electronic avalanche. READ MORE: Megaspeed says Alice Huang left in 2025 as company conducts internal probe over Nvidia fallout But by Friday afternoon, when U.S. authorities suddenly ordered every plane across the country to land immediately, it felt to many that something was up. Something was broken. Just ask Chuck Amasio, a 68-year-old from Rahway, New Jersey, trying to fly out of Newark Liberty International Airport when his canceled flight led to a few beers with his…
Could everything be broken? Grounded jets, Microsoft outage, AI chaos make some wonder
In short
An attempt to update the U.S. air traffic control system overloaded antiquated hardware, causing radar and communication gaps that grounded flights for over four hours. At the same time, an unrelated network capacity issue knocked out Microsoft services for millions of users worldwide before being resolved. Although travelers feared deliberate sabotage amidst other unrelated national accidents, federal agencies confirmed no malicious activity occurred. Following the disruption, Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy called for tens of billions of dollars to replace the nation's aging aviation infrastructure.
Key points
- Aging air traffic infrastructure remains highly vulnerable to operational failures during…: Aging air traffic infrastructure remains highly vulnerable to operational failures during routine technological updates.
- Normal flight operations were projected to stabilize by late Sunday following extensive w…: Normal flight operations were projected to stabilize by late Sunday following extensive weekend delays across the country.
- Transportation officials are seeking tens of billions of dollars in new funding to modern…: Transportation officials are seeking tens of billions of dollars in new funding to modernize the nation's aviation equipment.