Posted on 04/29/2015 1:42:41 AM PDT by Mad Dawgg
Several American Airlines flights were delayed Tuesday night after a software glitch occurred in the Apple iPads provided to pilots, forcing authorities to return planes to the gates to fix the malfunction, the Verge reported. The affected flights reportedly included AA2413, AA2276, AA1654, AA235 and AA128.
Passengers were reportedly asked to exit the aircraft. American Airlines first confirmed the issue to a passenger, named Bill Jacaruso, who was traveling to Austin from Dallas/Fort Worth airport on flight AA1654.
“Some flights are experiencing an issue with a software application on pilot iPads,” Andrea Huguely, a spokeswoman for the American Airlines, told the Verge. “In some cases, the flight has had to return to the gate to access a Wi-Fi connection to fix the issue. We apologize for the inconvenience to our customers. We are working to have them on the way to their destination as soon as possible.”
Another representative for the airline said that the issue, which had affected "a few dozen flights," had been identified and that a fix was being worked on.
(Excerpt) Read more at ibtimes.com ...
Jetstar soars towards paperless cockpit with new Zensar iPad app
http://www.zensar.com/zensar-media/press-releases/1653-jetstar-soars-towards-paperless-cockpit-with-new-zensar-ipad-app
Jetstar and Zensar Technologies Australia have developed an innovative iPad Application that allows pilots to quickly and accurately calculate aircraft weight and balance before take-off. Jetload is used on-board Jetstar’s A320s and is the first of its kind to be deployed in an Australian flight deck. Jetstar Chief Pilot Mark Rindfleish said the launch of the app was an exciting step in the airline’s journey toward a paperless flight deck using tablet computing.
“At Jetstar we’re always looking to harness new technology to improve the way we do things,” Captain Rindfleish said.
Before Jetload was introduced, Jetstar pilots used handheld personal digital assistant computers requiring on-board printing and a complex software update process.
Jetload is synchronised using a WIFI connection meaning documentation can now be sent through electronically in a more streamlined process for pilots.
Jetstar’s iPad rollout began last year and the low fares airline has worked through the necessary steps with CASA to safely remove about 20kg worth of paper manuals from the flight deck.
Captain Rindfleish said the fuel savings from the reduction of paper manuals in flight decks is worth hundreds of thousands of dollars each year.
“Fuel is by far our largest expense so anything we can do to safely reduce fuel burn is great for customers as it helps us to offer the lowest fares,” Captain Rindfleish said.
Vice Chairman and CEO Zensar Technologies Ganesh Natarajan said the company always endeavours to create and nurture long term value driven partnerships. “We’ve worked with Jetstar for five years now and we’re proud of this latest project”, Dr Natarajan said.
Zensar Chief Executive and Head of Enterprise Transformation Services Nitin Parab added that the successful introduction of the Jetload app was proof of their capability to deliver mission critical applications. “Apart from Jetload, Zensar provides Rocade crewing and operations system support, Flight Information Display Systems, Flight Dispatch Systems, 24/7/365 IT service desk, database administration and IT Finance Management services to the LCC’s operations across Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Manila, Japan and the soon to be launched Hong Kong operations.”
Additionally, Zensar also delivers enterprise application development services, CRM support and maintenance services to Jetstar. The company offers IT services for Low Cost Carriers including 24x7 global application support and maintenance, CRM, mobility etc. across critical functions like flight operations, reservations, crew management and airport ground operations.
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There have been thousands of flights since the iOS 8.3 upgrade and the Airline claims that this glitch has affected only a few dozen flights. Something is not right to blame the upgrade. I suspect a router at a specific airport before I would suspect the upgrade. The circumstances here just don’t support a glitch in the iPad update. It there were one, they’d be having the same problem everywhere in multiple airlines. Since it isn’t happening, it has to be localized and most likely external to the iPads.
I’m not disputing the concept of Electronic Flight Bags.
I’m disputing the concept of their Nav Database containing long-closed airports.
Well, if it exists in a database somewhere, and I bet it does (FAA?), why wouldn’t it be?
Wait. So to get WiFi they had to go back to the gate.
The plane doesn’t have WiFi, or one of the pilots couldn’t hotspot his phone?
An app fails and you blame the hardware maker?
The iPad is hardware. It runs software. Apple does make some software, but based on the article you linked, Apple doesn’t make the software in question.
Thank you. It was a rhetorical question.
You were right, Swordmaker. It was neither the iPad or the iOS 8.3 update, which was the problem! It was an APP which was the problem, and it stemmed from a duplicate entry in the app’s database that it could not handle, and so the app quit.
Because the iPad is so versatile, they found a temporary work-around very quickly, until the problem is corrected permanently!
— — —
American Airlines planes grounded by iPad app error
http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-32513066
“We experienced technical issues with an application installed on some pilot iPads,” said a spokesman.
“This issue was with the third-party application, not the iPad, and caused some departure delays last night and this morning.
“Our pilots have been able to address the issue by downloading the application again at the gate prior to take-off and, as a back-up, are able to rely on paper charts they can obtain at the airport.
“We apologise for the inconvenience to our customers.”
American Airlines pilots use an app called FliteDeck, which is made by the Boeing subsidiary Jeppesen.
The issue was caused by a duplicate chart for Reagan National Airport in American’s chart database,” said Mike Pound.
“The app could not reconcile the duplicate, causing it to shut down.
“We were able to remedy the situation quickly, and instruct pilots to uninstall and reinstall the app.
“Until the chart database is updated, AA pilots flying to or from National will use PDF [portable document format] images of the chart, outside of the app.”
You were right! It does NOT have to do with the iPad or the iOS itself. It was the APP’s problem. And the airline found a quick work-around by going outside the app to provide the relevant information on the iPad itself!
See Post #128
Are you having a bad day or are you always this miserable?
American Airlines was able to quickly fix it by supplying the right chart outside of the program, on the iPad itself ... until the App is fixed! No big deal ... and they were back in the skies in no time ... :-) ...
There was NO ISSUE with the iPad!
He’s ALWAYS that miserable when it comes to iPads and iPhones! ... LOL ...
My goodness. I’m all worn out from navigating this one thread.
You really don’t know much about what’s involved in the production of Nav Databases for use in commercial aviation, do you?
Yeah ... LOL ...
Ping.
The ‘production’ of them’? NO
But I’ve got a long-time friend who’s a senior commercial pilot. Says his iPad has databases and info on it he’s never heard of, or used. I know he says it’s got data on it for airfields he could never get into, so I wouldn’t be surprised if there was an abandoned airfield database in there.
I’ll ask him the next time I see him.
When I walk into the building where I work, I turn right to go to my office.
If I turn left, I’m in the office area of the group that builds Nav databases. We get custom databases from them for testing purposes on a regular basis.
There are no “Abandoned Airports” in them.
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