iPad App Issue Delays 'a Few Dozen' American Airlines Flights

[Nungster]

Sounds like poorly written software. The fact that it's running on an iPad is largely irrelevant.

I was waiting to see how long before someone pointed this out.

Also, sounds like checking apps should be on pre-flight checklist instead of the run up list.

 

[scott911]

maybe there should be a policy that pilot and co-pilot's software should NOT be updated as same time - let just one system be effected by potential bug with NEW code...

 

[kmj2318]

For the past year I've been getting disenchanted with technology. All this "progress" is really just the organizing and focusing of resources. And it creates so many dependencies. I can't read any books if my phone's not charged. I can't make a reservation without a certain app. I need to consider my platform, browser, or version number just to be a customer. Everything is so optimized that there is no room for variability. I've gone back to physical books, stopped exercising with earbuds, and stopped tracking my activity (which is really just using more technology to combat the effects of technology).

 

[samcraig]

I was waiting to see how long before someone pointed this out.

Also, sounds like checking apps should be on pre-flight checklist instead of the run up list.

Do you know that it's not - or are you just guessing?

 

[CB1234]

Seems to me you are the one not thinking critically, examining the situation. With your logic GM is guilty of making a defective car if the driver forgets to put gas in the tank.

Apple makes the iPad. Apple's part of this story ends there. AA is 100% responsible for it's privately distributed s/w, maintenance of its servers and iPads. Please, with your critical thinking, tell me where Apple's culpability here is? This failure wasn't due to an iPad or iOS issue from the story I read.

All of it. Anytime anything goes wrong, if an Apple product is involved, the entire situation is Apple's fault. Refusal to blame Apple for any and all direct and indirect consequences means you are a robotic fanboy that can't accept reality.

Life is much easier when you don't have to think critically!

Umm you need to read up the post to which Tubamajuba replied to.. You are stating basically what he was implying....

I think you have your wires crossed....

 

[Jimpilot]

I'm glad I wasn't the only one wondering why they had to return to the gate to access WiFi since most flights have it onboard.

The wi-fi is disconnected from the internet below 10,000 feet.

 

[JaJaWa]

If it ran Android then the entire plane would have crashed.

 

[WRX-SRQ]

Are you kidding, who's to say the problem is not IOS related or a combination of the application and IOS. All the Microsoft haters are so quick to bash Windows when a Windows based app crashes. So the fact that it is running on an iPad (e.g., IOS) may certainly be relevant.

Because if it had happened to just one pilot's iPad, that would have been more understandable, but the fact that it happened to multiple iPads across American Airlines fleet, that suggests it's a software/server problem, not the iPad's.

 

[samcraig]

Because if it had happened to just one pilot's iPad, that would have been more understandable, but the fact that it happened to multiple iPads across American Airlines fleet, that suggests it's a software/server problem, not the iPad's.

I'm not sure there's enough information in the article to make a determination.

 

[FloatingBones]

My god that's a first gen iPad! Not safe, dude. Not safe.

Why do you presume that the image used in this article reflects the hardware actually used by the airline?

 

[Jimpilot]

Why do you presume that the image used in this article reflects the hardware actually used by the airline

 

[MacVista]

Did they forget to set it to 'Airplane Mode' ??

 

[Jimpilot]

Did they forget to set it to 'Airplane Mode' ??

.

 

[tito2020]

Sounds like poorly written software. The fact that it's running on an iPad is largely irrelevant.

True they should had used a surface with Microsoft flight simulator .

 

[MaciMac100]

iOS 8 + Airplane = Disaster

 

[samcraig]

So what blame does Apple deserve based on what we know so far?

I see both happening in this thread. People giving Apple a "pass" and/or "Condemning" them.

I don't think anyone posting today thus far is capable of determining "blame" based on the information presented.

 

[z chamber]

Because if it had happened to just one pilot's iPad, that would have been more understandable, but the fact that it happened to multiple iPads across American Airlines fleet, that suggests it's a software/server problem, not the iPad's.

But according to the Verge:

The pilot then announced to Jacaruso's plane that all iPads on 737s were affected. About 45 minutes later, the pilot came back on to say "It looks like it's not just 737s, it's random,"

But if it's a software/server problem why did they come later and say that it was random?

 

[citysnaps]

And who wrote the software?

 

[Jimpilot]

American said in an email to USA TODAY that the issue was rooted in an problem with software application on iPads. About two dozen flights of varying fleets had to be grounded because of the issue, said Andrea Huguely, American Airlines director of corporate communications.


http://usat.ly/1GDDLV7

 

[gluckett]

The wi-fi is disconnected from the internet below 10,000 feet.

Just asking out of curiosity now - is that just procedure, or is it not possible to do? Seems like connecting briefly would be a much better alternative than returning to the gate.

 

[Jimpilot]

Just asking out of curiosity now - is that just procedure, or is it not possible to do? Seems like connecting briefly would be a much better alternative than returning to the gate.

It's automatic

 

[kdarling]

Wait, you are telling me that these pilots don't have a plan B to use their backup manuals? Hellooo!

Yes, I'd really like to know why these crews felt unable to continue the flight without their iPads in working order. Is this company policy, or an actual inability to make the flight without them? In other words:

1) Did they have the paper manuals stored on board and easily accessible? If so, why not use them? If not, what is the plan if both iPads fail in flight?

2) If copies are on board, have the paper navigation charts been kept updated by someone? (They must be manually updated every couple of months. Used to be a labor intensive job that pilots themselves did.)

They have been saving millions buy not transporting 40 pound of paper on every flight, and by not having to maintain 40 pound of paper with the latest versions. So now there was a flight delayed (the "few dozen" seem to be pure speculation). The cost of that is nothing compared to the savings.

Don't get me started on airline cost trade-offs.

Airlines also refused to add fire suppressant equipment in passenger plane cargo holds for years, because of the savings. (It cost the airlines less to simply pay for passengers who died in the rare aircraft crashes caused by fire. This was a known trade-off calculation cited by the NTSB each time.)

 

[MaciMac100]

With over a half dozen software updates to IOS 8.X since its release, I'm not thrilled to learn American Airlines is using iPads in the cockpit. I guess even the FAA drinks the Apple cool aide.

iOS 8
The buggiest... er, biggest iOS release ever. (https://www.apple.com/ios/)

It just works.

 

[z chamber]

A few have brought up the fact that the ipad in the picture is an ipad 1. What happens when an ipad or ios is no longer supported? Will the airlines or schools in some cases pony up money to get new devices every time? Did the airlines or schools realize that electronic devices get outdated much faster then paper books? Or will they just trudge along with outdated ones and deal with problems as best they can.

 

[PunjabiSoorma24]

Wtf?

What happens if the iPad stops to function while mid-flight?

If the information on the iPad is so crucial, why are they using first generation iPads?! It's negligence that they aren't at least using iPad Air 1s.