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The Therac-25 Incident (2021)

(thedailywtf.com)
449 points lemper | 1 comments | 27 Aug 25 06:57 UTC | HN request time: 0s | source
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napolux ◴[27 Aug 25 08:17 UTC] No.45036831[source]▶
The most deadly bug in history. If you know any other deadly bug, please share! I love these stories!
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NitpickLawyer ◴[27 Aug 25 08:23 UTC] No.45036858[source]▶
The MCAS related bugs @ Boeing led to 300+ deaths, so it's probably a contender.
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solids ◴[27 Aug 25 08:26 UTC] No.45036870[source]▶
Was that a bug or a failure to inform pilots about a new system?
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AdamN ◴[27 Aug 25 08:33 UTC] No.45036913[source]▶
Both - and really MCAS was fine but the issue was the metering systems (Pitot tubes) and the handling of conflicting data. That part of the puzzle was definitely a bug in the logic/software.
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1. mnw21cam ◴[27 Aug 25 10:48 UTC] No.45037861[source]▶
It wasn't pitot tubes that had the hardware problem, it was the angle of attack sensor. The software was poorly designed to believe the input from just one fallible angle of attack sensor.