FAA Cracks Down on Contractor Linked to January Flight Grounding

© Photographer: Nathan Howard/Bloomberg Cancelled and delayed flights on a departure board at Ronald Reagan National Airport (DCA) in Arlington, Virginia, US, on Wednesday, Jan. 11, 2023. US aviation authorities halted flights nationwide early Wednesday after the failure of a key pilot notification system operated by the Federal Aviation Administration.

(Bloomberg) -- Employees of a small government contractor linked to the massive US air-traffic error that grounded thousands of flights earlier this month have had their access revoked to the computer system that failed. 

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The Federal Aviation Administration provided the information to Congress on Wednesday, according to a person familiar with the update to lawmakers. The FAA also identified the name of the contractor for the first time, Spatial Front Inc., said the person, who asked not to be identified discussing the sensitive case.

Unnamed “personnel” inadvertently deleted a data file while troubleshooting the FAA’s computer system that dispenses safety notices to pilots, leading to its failure on Jan. 11, the agency said last week. Because aviators must have that information before departing, the FAA halted all departures for almost two hours early that day, prompting thousands of delays and cancellations throughout the day. 

“Spatial Front Inc. is fully cooperating with the ongoing investigation into the interruption of service to Federal Aviation Administration’s NOTAM system that occurred on January 11, 2023,” the company said Thursday night in an emailed statement. 

Spatial Front, based near Washington, works on computer systems at multiple US government agencies, according to its website. 

Early last week, its website also touted work on FAA contracts, saying it had more than 50 employees working on more than 90 “mission critical” systems, including the one that failed, known as Notice to Air Mission or Notam. In recent days, that information was removed from the company’s website. Spatial Front didn’t respond to emailed questions on why it changed the web page.

The FAA’s update to Congress was earlier reported by the Wall Street Journal. 

--With assistance from Kelly Gilblom.

(Updates with company comment from fourth paragraph.)

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