A cut fiber cable in New Jersey caused widespread flight cancellations and delays across the Northeast on Monday.
Key facts
- •The severed cable was a Verizon fiber line used for air traffic control.
- •Ground stops were implemented at all three major New York City airports.
- •FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford confirmed the cable was discovered after a circuit failure.
- •Amtrak and New Jersey Transit have provided conflicting accounts regarding which crew was responsible for the damage.
Hundreds of flights were delayed or cancelled on Monday after a fiber optic cable used for air traffic control was severed in New Jersey. The incident caused ground stops at all three major New York City airports and impacted air traffic across the Northeast region.
Dispute Over Responsibility
Verizon stated that it bears no responsibility for the outage, attributing the damage to construction contractors working in the area who cut the cable. The identity of the party responsible remains in dispute among officials and agencies. US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy stated that an Amtrak crew cut the line. However, an Amtrak spokesperson denied this, asserting that the incident occurred on New Jersey Transit property and involved a contractor for that agency.
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This article was independently rewritten by ManyPress editorial AI from reporting originally published by The Verge.
