Hour 1 (11.13) A student pilot on his first solo cross-country was in the air when the FAA grounded every departure in America.  

6:05 — The FAA stopped every departure in the country after a telecommunications outage hit all 22 regional air traffic control centers. It’s the first nationwide ground stop since January 2023. On the same afternoon in New Orleans, the asphalt tanker Atlantic Asphalt lost control and hit the American Heritage, an American Cruise Lines paddle-wheeler that was docked under the Crescent City Connection bridge. The riverboat rolled onto its side. 

6:20 — The nationwide ground stop is lifted. We check in with John Wayne Airport to see what Orange County travelers are facing. 

6:35 — The tape: A student pilot out of Hicks Airfield in Fort Worth tells the controller it’s his first solo cross-country, and he doesn’t know what to do. Plus, back-to-back crashes in the rain pile up cars on the westbound 91 Freeway in Yorba Linda and back up traffic for miles. 

6:50 — The ground stop ended after more than four hours, at 5:15 p.m. Pacific. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy blamed an “incredibly old” air traffic control system and is asking Congress for $50 billion in emergency money to replace it. College football got caught in it too. Texas was already on its plane to play LSU when departures stopped, and Tulane, Purdue and Auburn switched buses to get to Saturday’s road games. USC took off before the ground stopped hitting. 

Thanks for listening to Tim Conway Jr. on KFI! 🎙️