Microsoft software implicated in air traffic shutdown
Nearly all of Southern California's airports were shut down, and five incidents where aircraft broke separation guidelines were reported. In one case, a pilot had to take evasive action.
The newspaper said that a Microsoft-based replacement for an older Unix system needed to be reset every thirty days 'to prevent data overload', as a result of problems found when the system was first rolled out. However, a technician failed to perform the reset at the right time, and an internal clock within the system subsequently shut it down. A back-up system also failed.
Richard Riggs, an advisor to the technicians union, said the FAA – the American aviation regulator -- had been planning to fix the program for some time. "They should have done it before they fielded the system," he said. To prevent a reoccurrence of the problem before the software glitch is fixed, Laura Brown, an FAA spokeswoman, said the agency plans to install a system that would issue a warning well before shutdown.
Microsoft UK was not immediately able to comment.
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