Posted on 02/17/2020 11:45:33 AM PST by pa_dweller
Boeing's 737 Next Generation airliners have been struck by a peculiar software flaw that blanks the airliners' cockpit screens if pilots dare attempt a westwards landing at specific airports.
Amid the various well-reported woes facing America's largest airframe maker, yet another one has emerged from the US Federal Aviation Administration; a bug that causes all pilots' display screens in the 737-NG airliner family to simply go blank.
(Excerpt) Read more at theregister.co.uk ...
Copy this, China!
It may not be clear to everyone, but this is the subtitle from the article:
Odd thing haunts Next Generation airliner family (not the infamous Max)
And how many other equally improbable instances exist within that software?
Perhaps the overarching question about all these types of problems is: “Could it be that the cheapest available product is not only not the best, but is criminally deficient?”
“Can anyone explain how this is even possible?”
It’s a mystery. Our tech overlords have assured us that their overcomplicated, untestable crapola is the greatest thing ever.
And much better than the old stuff that was proven to work.
But the old stuff isn’t high tech, and modern, and cutting edge, and transformative, and disruptive, and woke, and innovative, and cool, and outside the box, and... (insert endless tech marketing BS here)
11 Posts!!!!
We’re slipping!
I know. And I even checked first before posting!
What I get for going on a lunch break. Hate to miss a hanging curve ball like that.
But... I gotta say that I hate flying on Boeing planes. They are very cramped. They apparently are a little narrower in the passenger compartment then equivalent Airbus planes (according to an airline employee I was chatting with) and consequently everything has to be just a little narrower. The seats are narrower, the bathrooms are smaller, etc. They are just less comfortable it seems.
Well, you gotta give us n00bs a chance once in a while! :-)
By H1-Bs?
....only works if you land facing Mecca.
Very very odd. I have software in 747’s (flight management CPU). We’re talking about safety certified software here. The underlying OS software from companies like Wind River Systems or Green Hills Software are used across hundreds of different aircraft. At the application level the same type of testing and certification must also be done. Different applications have have technologies that provide “freedom from interference” between them. For all of the screens to go black at the same time is really hard to explain. Did the displays lose power? Even if so, only at certain airports and entry directions?
...very very odd.
Because Mecca is to the East?
Ding ding ding! We have a winner!
ITAR restricts them from outsourcing military work, but commercial air transport? Who’s the lowest bidder?
Maybe runways don’t go that direction in India.
The Indian SW developers only cost $9 / hour; the accountants in charge see it as a big win.
75,000 complex parts, each provided by the lowest bidder.
There’s a Field of Dreams joke in there somewhere...
Your oversimplification is foolish
The lowest bidder must comply with Specifications and certification of proof of passing tests
Just like on the Max!
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