According to the LA Times, the LAX computer meltdown that stranded 20,000 international passengers was the work of a single malfunctioning network interface card on a single desktop computer in the LAX international terminal. From the LA Times:

The card, which allows computers to connect to a local area network, experienced a partial failure that started about 12:50 p.m. Saturday, slowing down the system, said Jennifer Connors, a chief in the office of field operations for the Customs and Border Protection agency.

As data overloaded the system, a domino effect occurred with other computer network cards, eventually causing a total system failure a little after 2 p.m., Connors said.

“All indications are there was no hacking, no tampering, no terrorist link, nothing like that,” she said. “It was an internal problem” contained to the Los Angeles International Airport system.

LAX outage is blamed on a single computer [LA Times]
(Photo:Kenny Miller)

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