Due to a software bug detained more than 200 flights: Do not fly above 65,535 feet

Spy plane US Air Force has caused a serious failure in the software air traffic control center of California, which is why it was necessary to delay the departures of hundreds of civilian flights at several airports south-western region of the United States and unplanned land the plane on their way to the region, сообщает Agency NBC News.

Although official agencies do not provide comprehensive information on the causes of the failure, but unofficial sources say that in the case of a new system of traffic monitoring, which established in California and some airports which mistakenly tried to prevent the collision of the aircraft with commercial air flights.

U-2 was flying at an altitude of over 60,000 feet (over 18 miles) above the sea level and could not cause problems to the civil courts at a much lower altitude. It flies over California and other regions at this altitude for decades and never had any problems. But recently, the airports have installed new software for monitoring flights in the project ERAM (En Route Automation Modernization), the project cost was $ 2 1 billion. Most likely, the new system mistakenly interpreted altitude U-2 and felt that it could affect other flights.

There is speculation that the cause of software failure was the opportunity to fly the U-2 at altitudes above 65,535 feet. However, the transmitter of the U-2 is capable of conferring arbitrary coordinates of its height to ground stations. By default, it is programmed for maximum FL600 (60,000 feet), and even if the plane is flying much higher, they will still pass a value FL600.

Another version is that it was some kind of new modification aircraft with the new transmitter. Perhaps he still passed to the base height of over 65,535 feet, and new software ERAM reacted not the best way. But the thousands of passengers who are late for flights of no better.

Source: habrahabr.ru/post/221761/