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Just two of Aviation relevance #4 and #10  but aviation made the top ten
- you can read the remainder at your leisure.

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The top 10 IT disasters of all time.

http://news.zdnet.com/2424-9595_22-177729.html?tag=nl.e539

Here's our considered list of some of the worst IT-related disasters and
failures. The order is subjective--with number one being the worst--so
feel free to comment using Talkback below if you disagree or have
suggestions for disasters we may have missed.


4. Airbus A380 suffers from incompatible software issues (2006)
The Airbus issue of 2006 highlighted a problem many companies can have
with software: What happens when one program doesn't talk to the
another. In this case, the problem was caused by two halves of the same
program, the CATIA software that is used to design and assemble one of
the world's largest aircraft, the Airbus A380. This was a major European
undertaking and, according to Business Week, the problem arose with
communications between two organizations in the group: French Dassault
Aviation and a Hamburg factory.

Put simply, the German system used an out-of-date version of CATIA and
the French system used the latest version. So when Airbus was bringing
together two halves of the aircraft, the different software meant that
the wiring on one did not match the wiring in the other. The cables
could not meet up without being changed.

The problem was eventually fixed, but only at a cost that nobody seems
to want to put an absolute figure on. But all agreed it cost a lot, and
put the project back a year or more.



10. LA Airport flights grounded (2007)
Some 17,000 planes were grounded at Los Angeles International Airport
earlier this year because of a software problem. The problem that hit
systems at United States Customs and Border Protection (USCBP) agency
was a simple one caused in a piece of lowly, inexpensive equipment.

The device in question was a network card that, instead of shutting down
as perhaps it should have done, persisted in sending the incorrect data
out across the network. The data then cascaded out until it hit the
entire network at the USCBP and brought it to a standstill. Nobody could
be authorized to leave or enter the U.S. through the airport for eight
hours. Passengers were not impressed.