Database Glitch Grounds American/US Airways

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Database Glitch Grounds American/US Airways

Posted by timothy on Sunday August 1, 2004 @05:22AM from the abort-retry-fail-land dept.

An anonymous reader writes "According to numerous news sources, all American Airlines and US Airways flights were grounded for two or three hours this morning. Both problems were caused by a computer glitch in the systems hosted by EDS. Quote: The operating system that drives the airline's flight plans went down."

23 of 274 comments (clear)

Re:Operating System (singular) by Anonymous Coward · 2004-08-01 05:33 · Score: 5, Funny

Yeah, Have they not learned about redundancy?
Settle down, we've all seen this before... by the_seal · 2004-08-01 05:34 · Score: 4, Funny

Airport BSOD
Last thing you want to hear by xIcemanx · 2004-08-01 05:34 · Score: 5, Funny

I'm guessing the last thing you want to hear on a plane now is the pilot saying, "What do you mean, fatal exception error?"

>_ Why don't they swtich to Linux?
1. Re:Last thing you want to hear by Brandybuck · 2004-08-01 06:13 · Score: 5, Funny
  
  Q: How far can the plane fly after a fatal exception error?
  
  A: All the way to the scene of the crash. Hell, it will probably beat the paramedics there by half an hour!
  
  --
  Don't blame me, I didn't vote for either of them!
Re:Gee, gods, ... by Rosco+P.+Coltrane · 2004-08-01 05:36 · Score: 2, Funny

... am I glad I'm flying Delta next Saturday :-) :-) :-)

Don't be so sure...

--
"A door is what a dog is perpetually on the wrong side of" - Ogden Nash
Re:Operating System (singular) by Anonymous Coward · 2004-08-01 05:37 · Score: 1, Funny

Yeah, Have they not learned about redundancy?
Re:I wonder if they could get any more vague.. by Rosco+P.+Coltrane · 2004-08-01 05:39 · Score: 3, Funny

What reason would they have for not giving even the smallest of hints as to the nature of this glitch?

The PATRIOT Act?

--
"A door is what a dog is perpetually on the wrong side of" - Ogden Nash
BSOL by Anonymous Coward · 2004-08-01 05:39 · Score: 4, Funny

Blue screen of life. Because US Air cancelled the flight and we were forced to fly on a competent airline.
Steve Balmer by Stevyn · 2004-08-01 05:41 · Score: 2, Funny

You know he's going to convince them not to switch to linux. First he's going to get on a plane...oh wait.
Re:Operating System (singular) by njcoder · 2004-08-01 05:41 · Score: 5, Funny

"Have they not learned about redundancy?"
Yep, their so good, even the failure was replicated!

--
Open Source Java DAO Generator
Re:Windows by Anonymous Coward · 2004-08-01 05:42 · Score: 2, Funny

Windows was a given, now for bonus points, tell us which version.

Microsoft Bob. Now, where do I go to collect my bonus air miles?
I thought everyone knew by Xerp · 2004-08-01 05:42 · Score: 5, Funny

NEVER open Windows in an airplane!
Guess IT Does Matter by Anonymous Coward · 2004-08-01 05:49 · Score: 2, Funny

well, i guess IT Does Matter after all....
Re:Windows by macdaddy357 · 2004-08-01 05:53 · Score: 2, Funny

Not only that! It's Windows 98.

--
How ya like dat?
Re:Windows by Anonymous Coward · 2004-08-01 05:56 · Score: 2, Funny

The following entities were NOT mentioned in the article you're linking to:

(1) American Airlines,
(2) US Airways,
(3) EDS.

So, what the hell are you talking about?
Why did you link to this article?
(I know, I know, because nobody will read it anyway)

You are such a nitpicker.
here's what happened by Scythr0x0rs · 2004-08-01 05:59 · Score: 3, Funny

"It looks like you are flying an aeroplane, Would you like help?" YES!
What *REALLY* happened... by catdevnull · 2004-08-01 05:59 · Score: 5, Funny

At about 4:30 a.m., the outsourced SysAdmin was setting up to do routine patches to Windows 2003 server nodes. But just before, he decided to check his e-mail with Outlook and he opened an important message from his system administrator advising him that his e-mail would be de-activated if he didn't open the important attachment. I think we all know what happened after that...

--

I might know what I'm talkin' about, but then again, this is Slashdot...
Re:Operating System (singular) by Anonymous Coward · 2004-08-01 06:06 · Score: 4, Funny

I'm an MBA. Would you please explain the joke?
I found the root of the problem by Anonymous Coward · 2004-08-01 06:27 · Score: 5, Funny

There is a line of code that raised the problem but is commented in Punjabi, I think it says "fuck this $3/hour job".
Re:This isn't what you think by Anonymous Coward · 2004-08-01 06:36 · Score: 1, Funny
Even though this sounds dire, I have a feeling that this does nothing to compromise airline safety.

Actually, it does:
1. Airline flight scheduler mainframe goes down for three hours. Three hours of revenue are lost.
2. Customers affected by poor service migrate to other airlines. Additional revenue is lost.
3. Airline attempts to recover revenue by cutting costs.
  1. Jet maintencance schedules are lengthened.
  2. Frequency of mechanical failure increases.
4. Pilots' wages are decreased or frozen.
  1. Lower-skilled pilots are hired.
  2. Frequency of pilot error increases.
Safety is comprimised.
Re:Operating System (singular) by mindriot · 2004-08-01 08:45 · Score: 2, Funny

Can somebody with mod points please mod this (-1, Redundant)?
Re:Operating System (singular) by Fulcrum+of+Evil · 2004-08-01 10:29 · Score: 2, Funny

I'm an MBA. Would you please explain the joke?

Well, it's like when you have two people doing the same job in case one gets sick, except that, instead of firing one, you keep both around.

--
"We returned the General to El Salvador, or maybe Guatemala, it's difficult to tell from 10,000 feet"
Re:Probably Sabre Holdings, rest probably wrong by Qrlx · 2004-08-01 11:18 · Score: 2, Funny

and a new "stored procedures" feature

I guess the should have heeded the cabin crew's warning: Procedures stored in the overhead compartments may have shifted during flight.