Key Takeaways
- Tyriq Withers and Daniel Kaluuya were stranded in Eugene, Oregon, on Friday after the FAA's nationwide ground stop forced them off their flight, according to KVAL.
- Withers slipped a reference to the "Bella Noches" meme into an interview about having to deboard, and the Buzzing Pop post about the moment has passed 1,400 likes.
- The FAA ground stop began at 3:36 p.m. ET after radar and communications systems became unstable at air traffic control centers, and airspace reopened at 8:15 p.m. ET.
- FlightRadar24 counted more than 6,600 canceled flights and 8,600 delays, which Reuters called the longest nationwide shutdown since 9/11, with about 1,500 Sunday flights already canceled.
Tyriq Withers and Daniel Kaluuya ended up stuck in Eugene, Oregon, on Friday (Nov. 13) after the FAA's nationwide ground stop forced them off their flight.
The pair were caught up in the grounding along with everyone else at the airport. Local news station KVAL interviewed the pair along with other passengers there, some frustrated and some thankful the FAA made the call.
The actors’ hilarious interview has quickly gone viral, with Withers referencing the "Bella Noches" meme, in which two women reacted to a shooting at the aforementioned club, located in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. “If you can’t go to Bella Noche, where the hell can you go?” one of them says.
“I just want to thank God and the FAA for protecting us, post-blue wave as well” Withers said, also referencing a recent sweep of newly elected Democratic officials after the midterm elections. “But I really feel like it’s really upsetting me and my homegirl, ‘cause if you can’t go to the airport, where the hell can you go?”
Kaaluya also weighed in, saying, “Obviously it’s an inconvenience, but I feel grateful…Think how many lives it probably saved.”
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, who announced the ground stop on X, said problems started at 3:36 p.m. ET, when air traffic control centers saw their radar and communications systems become unstable. Airspace reopened at 8:15 p.m. ET.
The FAA said in a statement that it had stopped traffic at every U.S. airport:
"[The FAA] issued a nationwide ground stop for all U.S. airports following communication issues impacting multiple Air Route Traffic Control Centers. FAA technicians are investigating the issue."
FlightRadar24 counted more than 6,600 canceled flights and 8,600 delays, via Reuters, which called it the longest nationwide shutdown since 9/11.
Duffy said switches and routers "got overloaded with data," and two airline officials said the outage appeared to hit a network overseen by L3Harris. Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin said it "appears this was mechanically driven."
Mullin said there is "zero evidence" so far of a cyberattack or rogue AI, but investigators have not ruled either out. Meanwhile, about 1,500 flights for Sunday have already been canceled.
