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The Engineer Who Stopped Airplanes From Flying Into Mountains

New submitter gmrobbins writes "The Seattle Times profiles avionics engineer Don Bateman, whose Honeywell lab in Redmond, Washington has for decades pioneered ground proximity warning systems. Bateman's innovations have nearly eliminated controlled flight into terrain by commercial aircraft, the most common cause of fatal airplane accidents."

9 of 237 comments (clear)

  1. Airplanes? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

    I think you mean "Aeroplanes".

    1. Re:Airplanes? by asdf7890 · · Score: 3, Funny

      nobody uses aero in everyday language nowadays

      Once again I'm declared a nobody by slashdot. Should I just get it over with a book a flight to Switzerland now?!

    2. Re:Airplanes? by robot256 · · Score: 4, Funny

      Only if you can find a suitable aeroline. ;-)

  2. Re:And the geek shall inherit the earth... by devitto · · Score: 5, Funny

    "Re:And the geek shall inherit the earth..." - and some plough into it by accident.

    5% of commercial airlines still weren't running a Terrain awareness and warning system.

    Don't worry about the 5% - that number is decreasing all the time, one way or another.....

  3. How old school. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    Today this would be solved by making flying info mountains illegal.

  4. Lies! by MacGyver2210 · · Score: 4, Funny

    This summary must be incorrect somehow.

    I just opened Flight Simulator and had no trouble controlling my flight right into the side of a mountain. Clearly, the system needs work.

    --
    If the only way you can accept an assertion is by faith, then you are conceding that it can't be taken on its own merits
  5. What? by rotorbudd · · Score: 5, Funny

    "The Engineer Who Stopped Airplanes From Flying Into Mountains"

    I thought that was the pilot's job?

    --
    A bullet may have your name on it, but artillery is addressed to " Whom It May concern"
    1. Re:What? by FrankSchwab · · Score: 4, Funny

      It is...but history shows that they weren't very good at it.

      --
      And the worms ate into his brain.
  6. Re:I look forward to the day by Sulphur · · Score: 2, Funny

    When you retards stop complaining about the system and start campaigning for Ron Paul to get it fixed.

    Help us O. B. Gyn Kenobie; you're our only hope.