The problem has been attributed thusly
"An engineer “replaced one file with another,” the official said, not realizing the mistake was being made. As the systems began showing problems and ultimately failed, FAA staff feverishly tried to figure out what had gone wrong. The engineer who made the error did not realize what had happened."
https://abcnews.go.com/US/computer-f...ry?id=96358202
It doesn't seem like lack of maintenance, just fat fingers. Good on Rep. Graves for tying up legislative efforts and grandstanding for an IT fix. Now if he will step up and deal with the millions of hours lost each year to errors users make with Excel, that would be worthwhile. From past experience, I don't want a leadership position dealing with an IT problem.
For those thinking redundancy would help - that simply piles on the problems of synchronization and the problems of pushing out-of-date or conflicting information which is why each user could not simply record and use their stored list on their own.
Anyone already in the FAA who wants to be in these particular cross-hairs:
https://www.usajobs.gov/job/697213300