Third-party iPad software to blame in delay of American Airlines planes

Posted:
in iPad edited May 2015
American Airlines on Wednesday said it identified an issue that delayed some 70 planes on Tuesday after crew iPads crashed, blaming the kerfuffle on mismanaged third-party software, not Apple hardware.




According to an American Airlines representative, an updated runway map for Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport pushed out to iPad-based electronic flight bags conflicted with a previous version, reports Re/code. Crew who downloaded and accessed that specific map experienced a glitch that caused their iPads to crash.

"That's why it was not system-wide or a fleet type problem," said Casey Norton, an American Airlines spokesman. "It's when the pilot accessed a particular map."

American relies on the Jeppesen Mobile Terminal Chart app for its EFB backbone, software approved for gate-to-gate use by the Federal Aviation Administration. The carrier was one of the first major airlines to move away from heavy traditional flight bags and by June 2013 had iPad EFBs operational across its entire fleet.

As the company awaits a fix, pilots have been instructed to view the updated runway map in a different app, obtain a paper version or delete and re-install the Jeppesen app, the publication said.
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 41
    MacProMacPro Posts: 19,718member
    DUH! :no:
  • Reply 2 of 41
    markbyrnmarkbyrn Posts: 661member
    Aw shucks, another lost opportunity for the tech pundits to spew out the Apple tropes.
  • Reply 3 of 41
    Now that was a well written and accurate article.
  • Reply 4 of 41
    fallenjtfallenjt Posts: 4,053member

    Look around these websites; they all say iPad glitch caused this sh.t. These idiots just couldn't wait to jump on Apple even though it's nothing related to iPad, but the fucking third party app. It's like to blame BMW car performance when you put crappy gasoline into the tank.

  • Reply 5 of 41
    lkrupplkrupp Posts: 10,557member
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by markbyrn View Post



    Aw shucks, another lost opportunity for the tech pundits to spew out the Apple tropes.



    No lost opportunity at all. The story is spreading like wildfire, “iPads crashing delays airline flights.” It’s the perfect spin. Oh and by the way, the HEADLINE on the Drudge Report website right now this minute? “DEFECT FOUND IN APPLE WATCH’ Apple’s openly gay CEO has apparently upset the right wingers to no end.

  • Reply 6 of 41
    SpamSandwichSpamSandwich Posts: 33,407member
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by lkrupp View Post

     



    No lost opportunity at all. The story is spreading like wildfire, “iPads crashing delays airline flights.” It’s the perfect spin. Oh and by the way, the HEADLINE on the Drudge Report website right now this minute? “DEFECT FOUND IN APPLE WATCH’ Apple’s openly gay CEO has apparently upset the right wingers to no end.




    Why did you have to bring in that "right-wingers" slur? That's irrelevant. The point is any and every web site is eager to spread lies about Apple because it means page views.

  • Reply 7 of 41
    auxioauxio Posts: 2,717member

    I'm still trying to figure out the whole "crash the iPad" part.  Crash the 3rd party app, sure.  But how does having bad map data bring down the whole iPad?

     

    If I'm guessing correctly, that part is also hyperbole on the part of mainstream media.

  • Reply 8 of 41
    dewmedewme Posts: 5,332member

    Apple will still be considered guilty by association, just like Windows got lambasted whenever faulty device drivers or application extensions crashed the OS.

     

    This is a very serious change management/application lifecycle management (ALM) black eye for Jeppesen, a subsidiary of Boeing. I hope they get their act together and consider this a wake up call. I also hope they get back charged for the loss of revenue and cost overruns by AA.

     

    I guess on the positive side of things, if you're a software process or ALM professional I suppose there will be some new job opportunities surfacing very soon (to add to the ones they already have in this domain) at this company. This topic, ALM, and security have to be right at the top of the list of things that have real potential to cause our entire software driven industry to implode.   

  • Reply 9 of 41
    jungmarkjungmark Posts: 6,926member
    markbyrn wrote: »
    Aw shucks, another lost opportunity for the tech pundits to spew out the Apple tropes.

    They'll still write the story. Then update with a correction a week later.
  • Reply 10 of 41
    robin huberrobin huber Posts: 3,949member
    I wouldn't use the term "crash" when referring to computer failures in relation to aircraft. Must be a better term that has less catastrophic connotations in relation to airliners.
  • Reply 11 of 41
    uphilluphill Posts: 62member



    This reminds me of an ironically amusing incident. I was on a flight returning from Paris last October, and once the plane was on the ground and within cell tower range, I texted an update to my friend who was picking me up from the airport. I typed in "The plane has just" and my iPhone 6 helpfully suggested "crashed" as its idea of the best word to put in next. Hilarious!

  • Reply 12 of 41

    "Third-party iPad software to blame in delay of American Airlines planes"

     

    That would be an acceptable excuse for Android, but all iPad apps are supposed to be vetted by Apple

  • Reply 13 of 41
    pfisherpfisher Posts: 758member
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by lkrupp View Post

     



    No lost opportunity at all. The story is spreading like wildfire, “iPads crashing delays airline flights.” It’s the perfect spin. Oh and by the way, the HEADLINE on the Drudge Report website right now this minute? “DEFECT FOUND IN APPLE WATCH’ Apple’s openly gay CEO has apparently upset the right wingers to no end.


    The problem may be that Apple is asking for it when its executives prance around and talk about perfection and high quality.

     

    Kind of like the pretty person in high school who puts on airs and shows their good grades to everyone. 

     

    For right or wrong, that behavior is going to attract the wrong attention. People will be looking for issues. I mean, people on this discussion board do the same thing about Samsung and Microsoft and Wall Street analysts. Didn't someone today say how they won't let MS development tools near their Mac and that Java sucks slow?

  • Reply 14 of 41
    markbyrnmarkbyrn Posts: 661member
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by AppleFanPro View Post

     

    "Third-party iPad software to blame in delay of American Airlines planes"

     

    That would be an acceptable excuse for Android, but all iPad apps are supposed to be vetted by Apple




    actually no because it's an Enterprise app not an App Store app.  

  • Reply 15 of 41
    evilutionevilution Posts: 1,399member
    but all iPad apps are supposed to be vetted by Apple

    Incorrect. All apps that go through the App Store are vetted by Apple.
    Non App Store private apps are signed by the app maker and apple don't see it.
  • Reply 16 of 41
    mjtomlinmjtomlin Posts: 2,673member

    So apparently Mikey Campbell is an idiot and "Kasper's Automated Slave" did more fact checking? Great... I guess this is the point when humanity is enslaved by robots?

  • Reply 17 of 41
    mjtomlinmjtomlin Posts: 2,673member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by AppleFanPro View Post

     

    "Third-party iPad software to blame in delay of American Airlines planes"

     

    That would be an acceptable excuse for Android, but all iPad apps are supposed to be vetted by Apple




    Enterprise apps DO NOT GO THROUGH THE APPSTORE, they're served up by institutional servers.

  • Reply 18 of 41
    I don't think it's the iOS that's crashing but the Jeppesen Mobile TC app.

    That app is kind of important to a flight.
  • Reply 19 of 41
    dasanman69dasanman69 Posts: 13,002member
    mjtomlin wrote: »

    You're an idiot... Enterprise apps DO NOT GO THROUGH THE APPSTORE, they're served up by institutional servers.

    Easy with the name calling. Not everyone knows that. Explain it with some diplomacy, and teach someone instead of insulting them.
  • Reply 20 of 41
    pfisherpfisher Posts: 758member
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Junebug172 View Post



    I don't think it's the iOS that's crashing but the Jeppesen Mobile TC app.



    That app is kind of important to a flight.

    I wonder how many iPads they have for testing.

     

    ALSO, can an install of one app affect another? Are these iPads unlocked? Is there any kind of control over the iPads so that they are used solely for flight information only? What if Jeppeson had tested the app on 20 iPads and found no problems? Also, are they using the right OS's?

     

    Many questions. Will be interesting to find out what happened. If it was a particular iOS that wasn't tested with the Jeppeson software.

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