[HN Gopher] Air India crash points to systemic problems at Boein...
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       Air India crash points to systemic problems at Boeing that CEO
       Ortberg must fix
        
       Author : andrewfromx
       Score  : 14 points
       Date   : 2025-06-22 22:16 UTC (44 minutes ago)
        
 (HTM) web link (leehamnews.com)
 (TXT) w3m dump (leehamnews.com)
        
       | andrewfromx wrote:
       | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VswFVpyg5ew
       | 
       | Another pilot agrees: this was software
       | 
       | "Boeing 787 to lose all AC electrical power due to generator
       | control units simultaneously entering failsafe mode."
       | 
       | The aircraft computer uptime was 248 days. It needed to be
       | rebooted. Yes, it that's stupid of a software bug.
       | 
       | A 2016 Airworthiness Directive requires "repetitive cycling of
       | the airplane's electrical power system."
       | 
       | a Model 787 airplane that has been powered continuously for 248
       | days can lose all alternating current (AC) electrical power due
       | to the generator control units (GCUs) simultaneously going into
       | failsafe mode. This condition is caused by a software counter
       | internal to the GCUs that will overflow after 248 days of
       | continuous power. We are issuing this AD to prevent loss of all
       | AC electrical power, which could result in loss of control of the
       | airplane.
       | 
       | https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2015/05/01/2015-10...
       | 
       | https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2020/03/23/2020-06...
       | 
       | https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2016/12/02/2016-29...
        
         | alternatex wrote:
         | Ahh so Boeing subscribes to our sacred philosophy in dealing
         | with memory leaks. Scheduled restarts.
        
           | GuB-42 wrote:
           | Or maybe something more extreme...
           | 
           | https://devblogs.microsoft.com/oldnewthing/20180228-00/?p=98.
           | ..
        
           | mensetmanusman wrote:
           | Every computer I have used needs restarts. Genuinely curious
           | if there is a way to make things not need reboots, and if so,
           | why doesn't Apple implement it
        
             | _moof wrote:
             | Every _consumer_ computer. Human-rated aerospace hardware
             | and software are held to much, much different standards.
             | Apple doesn 't build to these standards because it's
             | expensive to do so, and so far consumers have been willing
             | to tolerate a little frustration in exchange for having
             | devices they can afford and that can do new things without
             | requiring a five-year development program.
        
         | avalys wrote:
         | So, Air India didn't comply with a mandatory maintenance order
         | issued 9 years ago?
        
           | trollbridge wrote:
           | No kidding. Other aircraft probably wouldn't function if
           | their electricals were left turned on indefinitely. And I'm
           | questioning how much maintenance is being done if it's not
           | powered down for maintenance.
        
             | Yeri wrote:
             | Most maintenance doesn't require a full shutdown. C-checks
             | are done every 2 years or so.
             | 
             | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aircraft_maintenance_checks
        
           | seunosewa wrote:
           | Counting on humans to reboot an airplane because of a
           | software issue instead of fixing the software bug is wild. An
           | electric car that would crash and burn if the drivers forgot
           | to fiddle with some settings in the touch screen once every
           | month would have to be recalled.
        
       | duxup wrote:
       | This reads like speculation with regurgitated old news and
       | insinuations.
        
         | _moof wrote:
         | I was going to say, this is just a list of accidents and ADs
         | with no actual analysis or even an attempt to explain
         | specifically what the through-line is. I'm no Boeing fan, and
         | there may very well be systemic issues that need to be
         | addressed, but this article hasn't succeeded in identifying
         | them.
        
         | aydyn wrote:
         | Earlier this year, a youtuber speculated on the cause of a
         | (small aircraft) crash and was threatened with a lawsuit by the
         | family of the pilot- he had to issue a full retraction.
         | 
         | Given how early the investigation is and the magnitude of this
         | crash, I wonder how open the author is to being sued by Boeing?
         | How is this any different than the youtuber lawsuit? Any
         | lawyers want to weigh in?
        
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       (page generated 2025-06-22 23:01 UTC)