FAA outage reveals odd computing practices
August 29, 2008 By JOELLE TESSLER and JORDAN ROBERTSON , AP Technology Writers
In this June 30, 2008, a controller watches over air traffic from the control tower at Newark Liberty International Airport in Newark, N.J. When a computer glitch at a Federal Aviation Administration center caused widespread airline delays this week, the agency and some of its critics called it a reminder of the importance of a pending modernization of the nation's flight system. (AP Photo/Mel Evans)
(AP) -- When a computer glitch at a Federal Aviation Administration center caused widespread airline delays this week, it served as a reminder that the U.S. flight system is waiting for a modernizing overhaul. But it also appears the FAA's management of its existing technologies falls short of standards in other vital sectors.
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But that's not the main issue. The FAA has extraordinarily sophisticated software. But it's apparent from the comment by Tammy Jones that they're really not interested in 100% up time. And, I'm just guessing, protecting themselves against terrorist attack isn't high on their list, either. It wouldn't do any harm to do a major, independent investigation into the state of FAA software.