Further to the previous article, which seems to have raised some concerns (!), flicking through the latest AAIB bulletin reveals that there was a minor crash on Anglesey the other month. Nothing unusual about that, you might think, except the details. It was a private pilot in a fifty-six year old aircraft. The pilot's age, however, was 80.
You might be surprised to know when the plane you're flying to Paris in next was actually built. Airlines routinely fly passenger aircraft built in the '60s and '70s. Of course, the MOT for aircraft is a tad more stringent than for cars, but aircraft are not always the modern miracle you might think.
The really modern ones - the fly-by-wire Airbus variety - depend entirely on computer software to operate the mechanical bits. For years, those who really understand such matters have been pointing out two things: the first software ever written was inherently flawed, for a variety of complicated reasons. Secondly, all current software has been based on all preceding versions of the inherently flawed software. More ice, anyone?
No comments:
Post a Comment