15.11.2026 09:00
In the US, a tanker colliding with a passenger ship and, hours later, flights being halted nationwide due to a communications failure drew attention for their similarities to the 2023 film Leave the World Behind, produced by Barack and Michelle Obama. While the events reminiscent of scenes from the film raised questions, no evidence was found of a connection between the two developments.
A major maritime accident occurred on the Mississippi River in New Orleans, Louisiana, USA, on Friday, November 13. The tanker named Atlantic Asphalt collided with a passenger ship named American Heritage that was moored at the port.
According to initial information, the tanker lost steering control. With the impact of the collision, the passenger ship began to list and take on water, and shortly afterward turned on its side. Some of the passengers on board found themselves in the waters of the Mississippi River.
U.S. Coast Guard teams, firefighters, police, and medical personnel were dispatched to the scene. According to a statement by New Orleans Mayor Helena Moreno, about 100 people were rescued from the water.
No lives were lost in the accident, while 32 people were taken to hospital. It was stated that two police officers who fell into the river were among the injured. According to the Associated Press, as of November 14, eight people were still being treated in hospital.
TANKER'S BLACK BOX FOUND
After the accident, the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) launched an investigation. The 16-person expert team sent to the area reached the tanker's voyage data recorder.
The device, which functions similarly to the black box on airplanes, stores information such as the ship's speed, course, direction of movement, and audio recordings from the bridge.
Investigators will examine these records to determine why the tanker lost control. Authorities reported that the preliminary report could be completed in about 24 to 30 days, and the comprehensive investigation in 18 to 24 months.
The Port of New Orleans also initiated legal proceedings due to the damage caused by the collision. It was claimed that at least $1 million in damage occurred at the port facilities.
HOURS LATER, FLIGHTS WERE HALTED IN THE U.S.
On the day of the maritime accident, a major crisis affecting air transport emerged in the U.S. this time.
The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) decided to halt aircraft departures at airports across the country due to communication problems at air traffic control centers.
The decision, put into effect at 15:54 U.S. Eastern Time on November 13, caused serious disruptions at airports in different parts of the country.
The suspension of flights lasted more than four hours. Thousands of passengers had to wait at airports, while many flights were canceled or delayed.
U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy announced that approximately 3,500 aircraft in the air at the time of the incident were safely landed. It was reported that more than 8,000 flight operations were carried out the same night after the airspace was reopened.
INITIAL FINDINGS ON THE CAUSE OF THE MALFUNCTION ANNOUNCED
The U.S. Department of Transportation shared technical details regarding the malfunction in the air traffic system on November 14 with the public.
According to a statement by Secretary Sean Duffy, the problem emerged during work carried out as part of replacing old copper cables with fiber-optic infrastructure.
It was determined that a replaced router began sending intense connection requests to other network devices. It was explained that more than a thousand connection attempts occurred in the system every four to five seconds, which affected communication between air traffic control centers and aircraft and the transmission of radar data.
Duffy said it had not yet been determined whether the malfunction originated from a faulty device or from a mistake made by the contractor during installation.
U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin, meanwhile, stated that there was no finding indicating the incident was a cyberattack.
OBAMA'S FILM CAME TO MIND
The fact that the two incidents occurred on the same day brought the film Leave the World Behind, released on December 8, 2023, back to mind.
Directed by Sam Esmail and adapted from Rumaan Alam's 2020 novel, the production stars Julia Roberts, Ethan Hawke, Mahershala Ali, and Myha'la Herrold.
The film tells the story of a family that leaves the city for a vacation and finds itself in the midst of a mysterious cyberattack affecting the United States.
In the story, communication systems go down, people cannot get news from the outside world, and daily life dependent on technological infrastructure begins to collapse.
In one of the film's most striking scenes, a giant oil tanker that loses control moves toward the shore and runs aground. In later parts, major disasters such as airplanes falling occur.
BARACK AND MICHELLE OBAMA WERE ALSO INVOLVED IN THE PRODUCTION
Another notable aspect of the film is the role of former U.S. President Barack Obama and his wife Michelle Obama in the project.
Higher Ground Productions, founded by the Obama couple, was among the film's executive producers. Netflix had announced the company's involvement in the project in April 2022.
The film's screenplay is based on the novel of the same name published in 2020. Therefore, the story's core elements were written years before the events of November 2026.
SIMILARITY BETWEEN SCENES IN THE FILM AND REAL EVENTS
Three elements stand out between the film and recent developments in the U.S.
First, the grounding of a giant tanker after losing control in the film resembles the tanker in New Orleans, reported to have lost steering control, colliding with a passenger ship.
Second, the collapse of communication infrastructure in the film recalls the malfunction in the communication and radar systems of air traffic control centers in the U.S.
Third, while the production depicts aviation disasters resulting in airplanes falling, in the real event the FAA's halting of aircraft departures nationwide for safety reasons draws attention.
However, the plane crashes in the film and the November 13 incident are not the same. The purpose of the flight suspension decision in the U.S. was to ensure the safety of aircraft during the communication problem. Authorities announced that aircraft in the air were safely landed.
DID OBAMA MAKE A WARNING WITH THE FILM?
The similarities also raised the question of whether the film contains a warning about future events.
However, there is no evidence that Barack or Michelle Obama had prior knowledge of the 2026 tanker accident and air traffic malfunction.
Assessments that the film predicted events or that real developments were planned in advance are also not based on verified information.
In addition, no official finding has been announced that the two incidents in the U.S. were carried out as part of the same attack. While the cause of the tanker accident is being investigated by the NTSB, findings regarding a technical malfunction were obtained in the air traffic crisis.
CRITICAL INFRASTRUCTURE DEBATE IN THE U.S.
The possibility that the two incidents are independent of each other does not eliminate the debate over the reliability of critical infrastructure systems in the U.S.
The outage in the air traffic control system showed how major disruptions old technologies can cause nationwide.
The US administration had previously allocated billions of dollars in funding to modernize the air traffic control infrastructure. However, after the latest malfunction, the adequacy of the modernization efforts has begun to be debated again.
In the maritime accident in New Orleans, the ship's control systems, maintenance records, and navigation safety are at the center of the investigation.