http://www.osnews.com/story/23718/Malware_Implicated_in_Fatal_Spanair_Plane_Crash Exploring the Future of Computing en-us Copyright 2001-2013, David Adams adam+nospam@osnews.com Tue, 21 May 2013 21:00:26 GMT http://www.osnews.com/images/osnews.gif http://www.osnews.com http://www.osnews.com/thread?437807 http://www.osnews.com/thread?437807 There wasn't enough info to tell if this was Windows malware that's to blame but I'm shocked that they don't have security in place - what century do they think we're in? Mon, 23 Aug 2010 17:30:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (bannor99) Comments http://www.osnews.com/thread?437812 http://www.osnews.com/thread?437812 They don't fly with windows. The company uses a central computer to log the repairs they do in all the planes. The computer had virus, so the mechanics couldn't log in the computer and log the repair operation. Had they been able to do that, the program would have warned them that the plane haved had 2 similar problems in the last few weeks, and probably they would have aborted the takeoff. Mon, 23 Aug 2010 18:18:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (diegocg) Comments http://www.osnews.com/thread?437821 http://www.osnews.com/thread?437821 It's too bad that the website had such vague information. I'd like to know what the central computer was running for a OS, and what they had in place on the system (as well as the individual plane terminals) for protection. And what exactly was the trojan? Mon, 23 Aug 2010 19:34:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (Jedd) Comments http://www.osnews.com/thread?437825 http://www.osnews.com/thread?437825 This is really crap journalism, suggesting that the plane itself was infected with a virus through an USB stick. Of course story is now copied everywhere on the internet, even by serious newspapers.

The MD82 is an airplane design from the 1980's. Its computers predate Windows, and predate USB, and predate modern malware.

The issue is not about the plane's computers, but about a computer being used by technicians.Edited 2010-08-23 20:16 UTC Mon, 23 Aug 2010 20:14:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (dmantione) Comments http://www.osnews.com/thread?437837 http://www.osnews.com/thread?437837 There is no journalism anymore. Wikileaks is probably the closest thing to journalism we have left, and that's not really journalism, it's just information posted for all to see. Mon, 23 Aug 2010 21:14:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (iskios) Comments http://www.osnews.com/thread?437848 http://www.osnews.com/thread?437848 Where are you getting that? I read the article and all it says was that the virus prevented a warning that might have prevented the plane from taking off?

I don't see anything irresponsible in this article. On the contrary I think it is good that it is vague because the investigation is still on-going.

I think you are reading your own ideas into the article itself. It seemed quite clear to me that the system that is used to monitor/track issues with the planes was what was affected, not the plane itself. Mon, 23 Aug 2010 22:10:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (Tuishimi) Comments http://www.osnews.com/thread?437859 http://www.osnews.com/thread?437859 As is typically the case, there seems to have been some procedural/human error involved, though not all the details appear to be known yet (and lawyers are involved apparently).

http://isc.sans.edu/diary.html?storyid=9433&rss

That said, the article was confusing, if not fictional. Mon, 23 Aug 2010 22:41:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (coreyography) Comments http://www.osnews.com/thread?437866 http://www.osnews.com/thread?437866 ...I saw a picture about this ages ago !
http://fourquestions.us/images/airplanebsod.jpg Mon, 23 Aug 2010 22:54:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (Neolander) Comments http://www.osnews.com/thread?437893 http://www.osnews.com/thread?437893 Oh come on now. Don't you know? Blogs and sites like osnews is the future of journalism.
God help us all. Tue, 24 Aug 2010 01:14:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (Soulbender) Comments http://www.osnews.com/thread?438095 http://www.osnews.com/thread?438095 Well... so the computer was not on the plane... but still a critical event _happened_ involving malware... shall I say _windows_ malware which could have been prevented hadn't there been any Windows (therefore malware) involved?

Come on! Is it worth it having Antivirus, forbidding usage of USB drives and all the other caveats involved in keeping Windows safe? I don't give a damn if people want to stick with that hell, but we're talking about an enterprise here.... unfortunately lives were lost due to this dependency on windows (one way or another). Wed, 25 Aug 2010 02:52:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (eantoranz) Comments http://www.osnews.com/thread?438136 http://www.osnews.com/thread?438136 The crash was caused by the pilots failing to extend flaps and slats before the takeoff roll. Slats and flaps cause the wings to generate more lift at lower speeds, so the plane can climb. Because of the swept-wing design of modern airliners, they're critical for generating enough lift at slower speeds for takeoff and landing.

PS: I'm a pilot. Wed, 25 Aug 2010 13:06:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (tony) Comments