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Possible new culprit in Colombia crash: Computer glitch
August 23, 1996
Web posted at: 10:30 a.m. EDT (1430 GMT)DALLAS (CNN) -- In a finding with ominous implications for air safety, the crash of an American Airlines jet in Colombia has been linked to a glitch in the computer that programs aircraft flight routes, according to a published report.
The pilot of the Boeing 757 that slammed into a mountainside last December entered a correct one-letter command into the computer, but a database misdirected the plane, sending it toward Bogota in the direction of the mountain rather than the intended destination of Cali, the Dallas Morning News reported.
A letter from Cecil Ewell, American's chief pilot and vice president for flight , suggests that the disaster may reflect a larger computer navigation problem.
That's because the one-letter listing for both Cali and Bogota on South American aeronautical charts is identical, although the coding is different in most computer databases.
American Airlines has already distributed Ewell's letter on this matter to its pilots, and the Federal Aviation Administration issued a bulletin to all airlines, warning them of inconsistencies between some databases and aeronautical charts.
The FAA warned that the discrepancy "may lead to pilot confusion."
The finding casts doubt on the prevailing theory that the pilots of Flight 965 were wandering lost over Colombia when the plane crashed, killing all but four of 163 on board.
It shifts the focus from human error to the larger issue of potentially deadly computer problems and the reliance on automation in air travel.
A National Transportation Safety Board spokesman said the Allied Pilots Association and Boeing Co. will soon submit their analysis of the crash, and the Colombian government is expected to release a report by October.
Ewell's letter depicts a desperate attempt by the American Airlines pilots to redirect the plane moments before it crashed. The computer error wasn't detected for 66 seconds, after air traffic controllers warned them to take a more direct approach into Cali.
"First of all, no matter how many times you go to South America or any other place -- the Rocky Mountains -- you can never, never, never assume anything," he said. "These guys weren't complacent. You always have to put these events in a little time capsule and realize that from the time they started the left turn, where they started dialing in this stuff (into the computer) to the impact was a little over three minutes. It was a very compressed time, extremely busy."
Related stories:
- Reports suggest confusion caused Colombia crash - Apr. 17, 1996
- Blackbox reveals last moments before Colombian crash - Dec. 29, 1995
- Pilot slip may have kept plane from escaping crash - Dec. 28, 1995
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