FAA grounds all domestic flights

Thought for the day

The news that a computer outage had forced the FAA to ground all domestic flights reminded me of something I wrote back in 2018. It was entitled, "Putin really wants to bury us."  Here's what I said about the Russian leader's second of three objectives:

Putin wants to wreak havoc on America’s energy grid and communications systems.  How do I know?  Russian hackers have been caught trying to break into complicated grids for years — like those affecting cities’ abilities to keep the lights on, nuclear power plants, water agencies and manufacturing centers.  

What’s not so widely known, but equally as troubling, is hackers having their sights set on iPhones and U.S. airports.  Imagine the chaos and carnage they could inflict if they ever took control of our runways and skies?  No one could call out and flying would become impossible. 

I don't have any proof hackers caused the FAA's computer glitches, but I'm guessing Putin is all smiles.  I am old enough to remember when Nikita Khrushchev addressed the United Nations and announced, "We will bury you."  That was back in 1960, when Putin was eight.  I don't know if he actually heard Khrushchev's speech but I'm sure he's thought about it hundreds of times since then.

The good news is the FAA has fixed its computers and domestic flights have resumed.  Let's keep it that way.

-DF