Microsoft Outage and FAA Ground Stop: Were They Connected?

Two huge outages a day apart got people asking whether they were related. Here is what officials said.

1. November 12: Microsoft

Outlook went down in 74 countries. Microsoft blamed an issue from an earlier network capacity upgrade and said it was not a cyberattack.

2. November 13: the FAA

A communications problem at air traffic control centers led to a nationwide ground stop, only the third in US history.

3. Connected?

Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin said no.

4. Attacks?

Neither has been confirmed as an attack. Both investigations were ongoing.

5. The lesson

Big systems fail. Keep an offline phone list, a backup way to reach people and copies of what you need.

Sources

ABC News, Al Jazeera, Fox Business, November 12-13, 2026. ABC News (FlightAware data), Wikipedia: 2026 FAA communication outage, November 13, 2026.

FAQ

Why do outages seem to cluster?

Often coincidence. Big outages get attention, so a second one a day later feels connected even when it isn't.

Where can I read more?

See our pages on the Outlook outage and the FAA ground stop.