Air Space Intelligence, the AI start-up that supplies the FAA's SMART air traffic control system, says the nationwide ground stop was not caused by its software, NBC News reports.
In a statement posted on X and reported by NBC News on the evening of 13 November, the company said:
"The current ground stop is not based on or a result of the SMART system, any product of ASI or our integration with FAA and ATC"
The denial follows remarks by Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin, who said earlier on Friday that officials were examining whether the new AI-supported air traffic control system contributed to the communications failure. Mullin did not name SMART and did not say the system was the cause.
This is the company's own account, not an official finding, and it has not been independently checked. Neither the FAA nor DHS has given a cause for the ground stop.
NBC News says the stop follows the FAA's recent changes adding AI to air traffic control, and that it is not clear whether the two are related.