Oh, good Lord. This is something else, and how horrible.

First things first, the ground stop - the only one since the complete cessation of air traffic after 9/11.

Planes in the air are still landing as scheduled; however, they are not being diverted. So that's hopefully indicative of a technical issue vice something malevolent.

They're attributing it to a complete telecommunications outage.

This may well be the issue here. They were scheduled to begin bringing the FAA systems out of the Stone Age yesterday, and, rather than the ongoing issues with Microsoft across the country, folks are kind of thinking that beginning to integrate shiny new software with the ancient systems that our flight programs have been running on ran into a few burps.

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I can't imagine how archaic some of the software is out there. As this person being interviewed says, much of it has been a piecemeal mishmash over the decades.

It's a Frankenstein of 'pieces and puffs.'

...I don't know if they're linked, but it's just too much coincidence that they were trying to start that moving today. And now we have problems with the system.  

And that would be my guess that they are having computer issues by putting the new software in with the old

Others are saying that the 'telecommunications' glitch crippling things has nothing to do with the new update. So we'll see once they figure it out, I guess.

The horrifying news is in the Mississippi River right now, dockside in New Orleans.

An asphalt tanker somehow struck a docked river cruise liner, and it's the most ghastly scene you can imagine.

Oh, dear God.

Many of you will recognize right where that ship is. I've been there so many times myself.

Oh, my heart goes out to them.

...At 12:30 p.m. the Atlantic Asphalt tanker collided with the American Cruise Lines’ American Heritage while the cruise ship was docked on the Mississippi River outside 1350 Port of New Orleans Place.

The American Heritage had docked approximately two hours earlier to begin passenger disembarkation, according to Port NOLA.

At the time of the incident, approximately 129 passengers, in addition to crew members, were aboard the American Heritage.

According to city officials, more than a dozen people have been taken to area hospitals following the collision.

Rescues are underway, and at least 12 people are unaccounted for at this time.

People are clinging to the rails on the elevated starboard side as frantic first responders work to pluck them off.

On the riverside, crews on tugboats and dinghies are working like mad to pull people out.

Oh, it's a massive effort.

And in the miracle of miracles, this update was announced a minute ago - everyone's accounted for, and there were NO FATALITIES.

Thirty-two people were injured, no word on how seriously. The governor's working with local authorities to get hotel rooms and replacement medicines, etc., for everyone on board. 

It truly is amazing when you see how the tanker hid amidships. And now the Heritage is lying on her side in the river.

Hopefully there are no serious injuries among those who are hospitalized. My friend, Captain John Konrad, explains that the tug seen in the video must have come up immediately after the crash. Also, the interesting difference between a COLlision and an ILLision.

And then the maritime brain trust goes to work.

...3) Both. Crews don’t practice purposely dropping anchor often so it’s possible a mechanical failure caused the captain to order the anchor dropped and the helmsman was not prepared for the faster rate of turn. 

Also… why didn’t they have tugboats alongside?

Why did we never have the public hearing after the Baltimore Bridge collapse in 2024. We had a brief NTSB report but no drawn out public hearing like we saw after the El Faro, Deepwater Horizon and Marine Electric. 

Those hearings are important to find hidden lessons learned but neither the Biden nor the Trump administration was eager to hold one. 

More here for those who appreciate a deeper dive.

This was my Friday happy ending, I guess. What a scary hour and a half.

As for the friendly skies...

...hopefully they get that straightened out quickly.

As for what caused it, I have an idea...

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