Ground stop ordered for all airports nationwide for ‘reasons of safety’

The Federal Aviation Administration on Friday ordered a nationwide ground stop on all departing flights “due to extraordinary circumstances and for reasons of safety.”

The unusual alert contained no other information beyond stating that “all departing traffic should remain ground stopped until further notice.”

“Inbound international flights will be managed on a case by case basis,” the FAA said.

“FAA technicians are investigating the issue,” Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said in an online post. “We will provide immediate updates as we have them.”

Shortly before the FAA issued its alert, both major airports in Chicago — O’Hare International Airport and Midway International Airport — were listed on a ground stop alert due to an “equipment outage,” NBC Chicago reported.

Deveren Werne was on an American Airlines jet that was about to take off from Indianapolis to Chicago when suddenly the pilots announced that all flights were grounded.

“At first the pilot announced that there was some kind of radio issue,” Werne, 55, of Greenville, South Carolina, told NBC News in a telephone interview. “Then a little while later, the pilot said something like, ‘There is something going on that’s more serious than that.’”

Werne, a consultant who helps manufacturers and…

Original source: https://www.nbcnews.com/sports