Wednesday, July 21, 2010

Software update risks in avionics: pre-flight briefings

Browsing the ASRS database can be educational. Search for ACN #875270 and you'll see these snippets of an anonymous comment about the risks of software updates and avionics for providing pilots with pre-flight briefings.


"I am a Flight Service specialist. I am reporting an ongoing and routinely occurring safety concern. About 2-3 times/month, the company takes down its primary briefing system, for various reasons - software updates/patches, security patches, information updates, etc. The entire system is taken down all at once, nationwide."
...
"Coupling this lack of knowledge with unreliable/incomplete data is a recipe that guarantees, in time, a tragedy for an unknowing pilot and passengers who placed their trust in our company."


Aviation Safety Reporting System
Pre-flight briefing

No comments: