The FAA’s new flight tool rolled out days before the US ground stop
The FAA announced a wider rollout of its SMART flight-planning tool on 10 November. Flights were grounded three days later after a communications failure. Officials said they had no evidence that SMART caused it.
The viral claim
The FAA’s rollout of its AI-assisted SMART tool three days earlier caused the nationwide ground stop.
How we reached the verdict
The FAA’s notices confirm both dates and identify communications problems at several air traffic control centers. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy told AP that SMART was separate from the equipment that failed. Reuters reported that officials had no evidence linking the outage to a rogue AI system. The timing is real, but it does not establish a cause.
Sources
- Federal Aviation Administration · Primary evidence
- Associated Press · Reporting
- Reuters · Reporting