FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford has ruled out any AI involvement in the nationwide ground stop. He blamed faulty equipment at a press conference on Saturday 14 November, Yahoo News reports.
"We see zero evidence of anything nefarious, and zero evidence of anything AI-related," Bedford said, according to Yahoo News.
Investing.com also reports that Bedford said there was no evidence of AI involvement.
This is the first on-record denial from the head of the FAA. It follows Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy's statement on Friday night that there was "no possible way" the new AI-supported SMART system was involved. The system's maker, Air Space Intelligence, had also denied a connection.
Yahoo News reports that more than 14,000 flights were cancelled across Friday and Saturday combined.
Bedford's account of the cause has not been independently checked, and no investigation findings have been published.