Impact of major tech outage felt in many places across Eastern NC

JACKSONVILLE, N.C. (WNCT) — Flights, government services, hospitals and more were impacted by a technology outage Friday morning.

Multiple services and agencies spent hours in limbo as they tried to figure out how to get back up and running. The CEO of cybersecurity company Crowdstrike said that the issue came from an update for Windows users and not a security issue.

In Eastern North Carolina, leaders in Morehead City said their government was down which impacted utility bills and inspections systems. Hospitals like CarolinaEast and Onslow Memorial said they also were impacted but had procedures in place to continue giving care.

North Carolina DMVs weren’t able to help anyone until 2 p.m. as they pushed back all appointments. Meanwhile, multiple flights were either canceled or delayed across the state, including at Albert J. Ellis Airport in Jacksonville.

Noah Payne had been waiting at the airport since 10 a.m. after the original flight was canceled. “I found out it was canceled and they booked me another flight for tomorrow,” Payne said. “But, I’m trying to get home today, so I just booked a different flight instead.”

Maria Partida was trying to fly to Charlotte to get back home to Fresno, CA. “I wanted to come earlier to see what was going on, just to see if I was going to be later than they were saying,” she said.

She said she still believes everything happens for a reason and just wants to get home safely. “The personnel, you know, they’re very efficient,” Partida said. “They help as much as they can. And, you know, we just got to be patient for our own safety.”

The systems have been slowly returning back to normal throughout the day but without many disruptions.

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