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GA, Private Aviation Dodge Worst of Cyber Outage Impact

Flight planning apps such as ForeFlight and SkyVector remain operational.

[FLYING File Photo]
Gemini Sparkle

Key Takeaways:

  • A global IT outage, caused by a faulty CrowdStrike software update for Windows hosts, led to thousands of commercial flight cancellations and delays worldwide.
  • General and private aviation, including flight planning applications like ForeFlight and SkyVector, were largely unaffected by the outage.
  • The FAA confirmed that air traffic control operations were also not impacted.
  • CrowdStrike's CEO clarified the incident was a software defect, not a security incident or cyberattack, and a fix was promptly deployed.
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General and private aviation largely avoided the impacts of a massive global IT outage that led to thousands of commercial flight cancellations and delays Friday. 

Many American pilots woke up to the news that a faulty software update from CrowdStrike, a cyber security technology used by Microsoft Windows, had triggered a vast cyber outage that disrupted air travel, banking, and media outlets across the world.

Meg Godlewski

Meg Godlewski has been an aviation journalist for more than 24 years and a CFI for more than 20 years. If she is not flying or teaching aviation, she is writing about it. Meg is a founding member of the Pilot Proficiency Center at EAA AirVenture and excels at the application of simulation technology to flatten the learning curve. Follow Meg on Twitter @2Lewski.

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