When commenting on the statements made by the Secretary of Transport of the United States, Sean Duffy, about the air blackout in the country, risk management specialist Moacyr Duarte highlighted, in an interview with GloboNews, vulnerabilities in the system, pointing out that "for the system to be reliable, critical failures must have redundancy and they cannot depend on each other". He added that "the analyzes they carried out did not take into account the failure that occurred."
"Within reliability, we have the history of redundancy and independence. For the system to be reliable, the critical phases must have redundancy and they cannot depend on each other. It basically means that the analyzes they carried out did not include the failure that occurred", said Duarte.
According to Duffy, the main suspicion is a failure during the replacement of copper cables with fiber optics in an air traffic control system. The American's statement was made during a press conference at the headquarters of the US Department of Transportation, after the suspension of takeoffs across the country for around four hours. According to Duffy, the systems were back up and running after the maintenance service was isolated. The government is still investigating whether the failure was caused by human error or faulty equipment.
"We have just discovered that a remote location in the United States, distant, not considered important, if it were a sabotage point, would stop the entire American air system. And this, as we said before, reveals a very great vulnerability. Not even they themselves, in the words of the secretary himself, knew that this location could have an impact in this way", added Duarte.
"Which points to insufficiently detailed studies on the situation and insufficient planning and logistics to make this transition operational, as he said they are doing. So, they told the world that the United States today has Achilles' heels, which can, in remote locations, with relatively simple equipment, collapse the entire system", he added.
According to Duffy, the problem occurred during maintenance work at a remote Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) facility, on a network operated by L3Harris.
“What we are trying to determine now is whether there was human error by L3Harris or whether faulty equipment was installed,” Duffy said.
L3Harris is an American technology and defense company responsible for the telecommunications network used in US air traffic control. The company has worked with the FAA for more than two decades.
During maintenance, a router would have presented problems and caused instability in other equipment on the network. According to Duffy, the system recorded more than a thousand connection attempts every four or five seconds.
The failure compromised communication between controllers and aircraft, in addition to receiving information from radars. Given the problems, the FAA ordered the suspension of takeoffs for safety reasons.
The secretary also ruled out a relationship between the strike and SMART, a new artificial intelligence system used by the FAA to assist in air traffic management.
The tool was recently implemented in 22 US control centers, which raised questions about a possible link to the episode.
According to Duffy, however, the problem occurred in the old telecommunications infrastructure, unrelated to the new system.
During the press conference, Duffy criticized the lack of investment in the air traffic control infrastructure in the United States and defended the modernization of equipment.
According to him, the replacement of copper cables with optical fiber is part of a technological update process carried out for decades in different sectors of the country.
"Virtually all institutions in the United States are making this transition from copper to fiber, from analog to digital. Perhaps the FAA will be the last to do this because of the investments that were not made," he said.
The secretary stated that the FAA still depends on old equipment and that the transition to digital systems is necessary to improve the safety and efficiency of operations.
According to Duffy, 69% of communications that used copper cables have already been replaced by fiber optic connections.
The government is also working on modernizing radios, radars and communication systems used by air traffic controllers.
Duffy demanded new investments from the American Congress to speed up this process and avoid similar problems.
"If we don't start replacing these systems, how long are we going to wait, Americans? How long are we going to wait, Congress? I think this is the time," he declared.
The secretary also highlighted the need to prepare infrastructure for increased movement at airports as the Thanksgiving holiday approaches.
Friday's shutdown also caused delays and cancellations at European airports, including those in Paris, Frankfurt and Amsterdam.
This was the third national takeoff shutdown in US history. The previous ones occurred after the attacks of September 11, 2001 and in January 2023, when a failure in an FAA system also interrupted operations.
Although the air traffic control system was fully operational this Saturday, passengers still faced delays and cancellations.
According to information released by Reuters in the afternoon, the main airlines canceled more than 3,700 flights in the United States and recorded delays on another 2,000.
The most affected airports were Hartsfield-Jackson, in Atlanta; O'Hare in Chicago; and John F. Kennedy, in New York.
Earlier, Duffy had assured that it was safe to travel by air, but warned that the recovery of operations would be gradual.
"You will continue to see some delays and cancellations as airlines reschedule flights and reposition aircraft and crews where they are needed most," wrote the secretary on the social network X.
Duffy also stated that the American government is working together with airlines to accelerate the normalization of services.
"We are in close coordination with airlines to support the ongoing recovery," he stated.
According to the secretary, the priority is to ensure that passengers reach their homes safely and reunite with their families as quickly as possible.
He also thanked the professionals working to restore operations.
"To our air traffic controllers, pilots and flight crews who are working around the clock: the nation thanks you for your professionalism and dedication to the flying public," he said.
Authorities advise passengers to check directly with airlines to check the status of their flights. Updated airport information is also available on the FAA website.
São Paulo International Airport, in Guarulhos, recorded delays and cancellations of flights from the USA this Saturday morning, following the strike in the USA.
Among the flights scheduled to arrive by 7am, two were cancelled. Both would depart from New York, with landings scheduled for 6:15 am and 7 am.
In a statement, the National Civil Aviation Agency (Anac) said on Friday (13) that it is monitoring the impacts of the air strike in the USA and advises passengers to consult the airlines to check possible changes to flights.
According to the agency, companies must inform passengers about delays and cancellations, in addition to presenting the departure forecast.
In case of cancellation or delay of more than four hours, passengers are entitled to free re-accommodation on another flight, including another airline, in accordance with the applicable rules.
