Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy’s press conference on Saturday started disastrously.
The Donald Trump appointee had only just started thanking air traffic controllers for their work during the crisis when feedback began blaring through the microphone at Transportation Department headquarters, the Washington Post reported. Duffy paused, tried again, and was forced to stop a second time.
“Oh, this is not operational?” he asked. “This is our kind of, um, day.”
Most news outlets cut away while staff scrambled to fix the sound, according to Mediaite. Minutes later the livestream returned, with Duffy counting from one to seven into the microphone before he pressed on, the report notes.
The glitch came as airlines scrapped thousands more flights Saturday, a day after the FAA froze all departures for more than four hours. It was only the second nationwide ground stop since 9/11.
Once the briefing got going, Duffy blamed contractor L3Harris. He said a router installed during a copper-to-fiber upgrade at a remote FAA site had flooded the network. He added that officials still didn’t know whether installation error or faulty equipment was at fault. L3Harris did not immediately respond to NPR’s request for comment.
The appearance was Duffy’s second try at explaining the meltdown. A Friday night White House briefing alongside Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin had drawn widespread criticism, including griping from White House insiders.