15.11.2026 11:10
After air traffic in the US was halted due to a technical malfunction and a series of unusual events followed one after another, a noteworthy post came from world-famous horror writer Stephen King. King commented humorously on the events, saying, "Aliens have landed on Earth. This is the real reason flights were halted."
Stephen King, one of the most recognized names in horror literature, posted a striking message on his X account regarding the suspension of flights. In his post, King used the following statements:
"Aliens have landed on Earth. This is the REAL reason flights were stopped. They don't want to start a worldwide panic. They are blind but hear incredibly well."
King's words are not an official statement or a real alien sighting, but rather a humorous commentary he made about the suspension of flights.
WHY WERE FLIGHTS STOPPED IN THE US?
On Friday, November 13, a major technical failure affecting air traffic occurred in the US. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), after identifying communication problems at multiple air traffic control centers, temporarily halted aircraft takeoffs nationwide.
The decision caused serious disruptions at airports, while thousands of passengers faced flight cancellations and delays. During the restriction, which lasted more than about four hours, air traffic control teams worked intensively to ensure flight safety.
US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy announced that at the time the decision was made, there were approximately 3,500 aircraft in the air and that these aircraft were landed safely. After the restriction was lifted, more than 8,000 flight operations were carried out again the same night.
THE CAUSE OF THE FAILURE EMERGED
According to statements by US officials, the country's aging air traffic control infrastructure lies at the root of the crisis.
Transportation Secretary Duffy stated that a technical problem occurred while a contractor company was carrying out work to convert old copper communication lines to a fiber-optic system.
A router used during the work sending more than 1,000 connection requests to other devices in four to five seconds caused an overload in the communication network.
As a result, there were interruptions in communication between air traffic controllers and aircraft and disruptions in radar data. Officials reported that it was being investigated whether the problem stemmed from faulty equipment or from an error made during installation.
MICROSOFT SYSTEMS ALSO EXPERIENCED PROBLEMS THE SAME DAY
On the day of the aviation crisis in the US, global access problems were also seen in Microsoft services. The coincidence of two major technical failures in the same period raised the question of whether the events were connected.
Microsoft announced that the outage was caused by a technical issue linked to a previously performed network capacity update.
US officials, however, reported that no connection had been identified between the failure in the air traffic system and the Microsoft outage and that there was no evidence of a malicious attack behind the events.
THE SHIP ACCIDENT IN NEW ORLEANS ALSO DREW ATTENTION
On the same day, the collision of a tanker and a passenger ship in New Orleans was added to the unusual developments in the country.
News also came one after another about suspicious unmanned aerial vehicles being seen near a US air base in the UK and explosives being found at a facility in Ohio.
The occurrence of different events within a short period increased public concerns. However, no verified finding was announced indicating that these developments were part of a common attack.
IT REMINDED OF NETFLIX'S APOCALYPTIC FILM
The disruptions in aviation and communication systems also brought to mind Netflix's 2023 film Leave the World Behind.
The film depicts communication networks collapsing, technological systems being disabled, and a growing uncertainty in society after a major cyberattack.
Although similarities were drawn between the real events in the US and the film's screenplay, officials announced that no evidence had been found showing that the recent outages were caused by a cyberattack.
THE MASTER OF HORROR'S WORDS DREW ATTENTION
Stephen King, known for works such as It, The Shining, and Pet Sematary, also added a different dimension to the developments with his post about aliens.
In particular, his statement that aliens are blind but possess extraordinary hearing abilities reminded of creatures in horror and science fiction productions.
King's humorous post drew attention in that he interpreted the uncertainty caused by technical failures with a narrative specific to horror literature. However, there is no evidence that aliens have landed on Earth or that flights were stopped for this reason.