Markwayne Mullin: The nationwide FAA ground stop was caused by a telecommunications outage. Our verdict: True.
Markwayne Mullin made the claim in a briefing on 13 November 2026, during the nationwide FAA ground stop, as reported by dnyuz.com and CBS News.
Our verdict
True
The claim is accurate. Markwayne Mullin said the nationwide FAA ground stop was caused by a telecommunications outage, and official statements and news reports from that day back him up.
What we found
We found strong agreement across several independent outlets. CBS News reported that Markwayne Mullin said the FAA ground stop was caused by a telecommunications outage, and dnyuz.com ran the same statement under the headline "Mullin Says Nationwide Ground Stop Is a Telecommunication Outage". ABC News and AVweb both confirmed that the FAA ordered a nationwide ground stop on 13 November 2026, and Aerotime reported it was due to a communications outage. The cause was described in slightly different words elsewhere — CNN and The New York Times said Mullin pointed to technology upgrades overwhelming the system, while NHPR reported the FAA and the Transportation Secretary blamed outdated, overloaded communications technology. All of these describe a telecommunications or communications failure, so they support the claim rather than contradict it.
The evidence
3 of 6 sources support the claim; none contradict it.
- Background
CBS News reported that Markwayne Mullin stated the FAA ground stop was caused by a telecommunications outage. [1]
- Background
dnyuz.com reported Mullin saying the nationwide ground stop was a telecommunication outage. [2]
- Supports the claim
ABC News reported that the FAA issued a rare nationwide ground stop on 13 November 2026 because of a communication issue. [3]
- Supports the claim
Aerotime reported that a nationwide FAA ground stop occurred on 13 November 2026 due to a communications outage. [4]
- Supports the claim
AVweb reported that a nationwide FAA ground stop was implemented on 13 November 2026 amid air traffic control communications problems. [5]
- Background
NHPR reported that the FAA and the Transportation Secretary attributed the ground stop to overloaded, outdated communications technology. [6]
What we could not confirm
- We could not independently verify the technical root cause of the outage, only how officials and news reports described it.
- We could not confirm whether the outage was caused by a cyberattack, sabotage or another external factor.
How we checked
We looked at contemporaneous news reports and official statements from 13 and 14 November 2026 about the nationwide FAA ground stop and its cause. We reviewed 11 relevant sources.
Sources
- [1]cbsnews.com · FAA lifts nationwide ground stop that disrupted thousands of flights, White House says no indication of "nefarious act" · November 13, 2026
- [2]dnyuz.com · Mullin Says Nationwide Ground Stop Is a Telecommunication Outage · November 14, 2026
- [3]abcnews.com · FAA issues rare nationwide ground stop; no indication of 'nefarious attack' · November 13, 2026
- [4]aerotime.aero · ATC communications outage impacting flights across US · November 13, 2026
- [5]avweb.com · Nationwide Ground Stop Amid ATC Communications Problems · November 13, 2026
- [6]nhpr.org · Old tech blamed for the ground stop that caused flight chaos: 'It got overloaded' · November 13, 2026
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