Apple Maps Flaw Sends Drivers Across Airport Runway

solareagle writes "The BBC reports that an Alaskan airport says it has had to place barricades across one of its taxiways after an Apple Maps flaw resulted in iPhone users driving across a runway. The airport said it had complained to the phone-maker through the local attorney general's office. 'We asked them to disable the map for Fairbanks until they could correct it, thinking it would be better to have nothing show up than to take the chance that one more person would do this,' Melissa Osborn, chief of operations at the airport, told the Alaska Dispatch newspaper. The airport said it had been told the problem would be fixed by Wednesday. However the BBC still experienced the issue when it tested the app, asking for directions to the site from a property to the east of the airport. By contrast the Google Maps app provided a different, longer route which takes drivers to the property's car park."

Comments

Re: calendar check.

[Em Adespoton]

Airport's fault. No one should be able to drive their car right onto the runway, no matter what GPS or voice in their heads is telling them. Fire whoever runs this airport because they're a moron for not putting a fence up

I think it's pretty reasonable to think that a MILE of warning signs that you might get hit by a freaking plane is enough deterant.

And before you keep going on about physical security, remember that stupid is always going to find a way.

From TFA:

"They had to enter the airport property via a motion-activated gate, and afterwards there are many signs, lights and painted markings, first warning that aircraft may share the road and then that drivers should not be there at all.

"They needed to drive over a mile with all this before reaching the runway. But the drivers disregarded all that because they were following the directions given on their iPhones."

These aren't drunk frat boys pulling some shenaigans in the middle of the night. These are fully competent, licensed drivers who turned off their own brains and replaced them with iPhones. This is NOT the airport's fault. It's called personal responsibility.

I do wonder what would happen if Apple Maps told everyone to jump off a bridge....

Re: Google maps error too

[je ne sais quoi]

A gps software from Microsoft once attempted to get my Dad to drive along what we think was a power line to the top of the tallest peak in Virginia. Pretty interesting stuff, not only was there no road there, it was far too steep for a vehicle anyway. Fortunately we were able to find a hiking trailhead through other means (reading signs instead of listening to a robot....maybe what these people should have done too.)