Trojan-Infected Computer Linked To 2008 Spanair Crash [But did not cause it]

[Flashback]

Google Translate

"Two years ago, Spanair flight JK-5022 crashed shortly after takeoff in Madrid, killing 154 of its 172 passengers and crew. El Pais online newspaper reports that the ground computer responsible for triggering an alarm after three failures are reported in a plane failed to do so."

 

[thewinchester]

I had someone mention this story on Twitter earlier after it was reported by a usually respectable anti-virus company.

This was the first I've heard of it, and I'm yet to see any respectable journalists in aviation circles report on the story. I've passed it along to some of them and waiting to see what they hear back (may be a while as its been passed onto their European desk). I'm taking the story with a large grain of salt.

It's important to note that the Spanish authorities haven't handed down their final official report into the crash yet, and CIAIAC made no mention of this fact in their interim report delivered on 4 August 2009, nor is it mentioned in the progress report issued since.

 

[thewinchester]

Following-up on this, A ZDNet reporter has just done a fact check style article on this. Puts this all in perspective and debunks the suggestion the El Pais article.

Fact check: malware did not bring down a passenger jet

By Ed Bott | August 24, 2010, 10:44am PDT

The reality? Yes, the crash of Spanair flight 5022 at Madrid-Barajas Airport in August 2008 was a tragedy, with the entire crew and 154 passengers losing their lives. But malware did not bring down that plane. The actual cause of this crash has been extensively documented in official reports from the Spanish Civil Aviation Accident and Incident Investigation Commission (CIAIAC). Their website contains a preliminary report published shortly after the accident, an Interim Report released last year at roughly this time, and a Progress Note published just last week. The official English translation of the most recent report does not mention viruses or malware. The actual cause is far more prosaic: the pilots missed a crucial item on their checklist and took off with the flaps in the wrong position...

 

[tuppaware]

Sounds like the maintenance computer they were referring to might of been a replacement for a check-sheet maintenance system? Not directly related to the plane maybe (I dunno - do airlines use laptops as a system of reference?) ? As the system should still warn the pilots if the plane is not in the right configuration for takeoff.

Edit: After actually reading the article - it says that the virus was in the PC used to record maintenance .