Close X
Wednesday, December 4, 2024
ADVT 
International

Independent inquiry into Britain's flight chaos

Darpan News Desk IANS, 15 Dec, 2014 10:19 AM
    An independent inquiry will be initiated into the air traffic control computer failure which disrupted flights at Britain's airports last week, officials said Monday.
     
    National Air Traffic Services (NATS) has blamed a software glitch at its centre at Swanwick in Hampshire, BBC reported.
     
    The inquiry will look at NATS' handling of the incident and whether lessons were learnt from previous failures.
     
    Later, Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin will be questioned by members of parliament about the incident.
     
    Britain's Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has said that it would appoint an independent chair to lead the inquiry, which will take evidence from experts on information technology and air traffic control.
     
    The computer failure caused huge problems at airports around the country Friday -- including delays at Heathrow and Gatwick, where departing flights were grounded. 
     
    Heathrow Airport cancelled about 40 flights Saturday before normal services resumed.
     
    It comes a year after a telephone failure at the Hampshire control room which also caused flights to be disrupted -- one of a number of technical hitches to hit the partly-privatised NATS since the Swanwick centre opened in 2002.
     
    The transport secretary said the system failure was "unacceptable" and asked for a full explanation from NATS about what went wrong.

    MORE International ARTICLES

    Indian-origin student took bear's photos before it killed him

    Indian-origin student took bear's photos before it killed him
    An Indian-origin student in the US took photos of a bear while hiking in a US preserve before it mauled him to death, media reported....

    Indian-origin student took bear's photos before it killed him

    There's No Free Lunch For Obama On Thanksgiving Or Any Other Day

    There's No Free Lunch For Obama On Thanksgiving Or Any Other Day
    WASHINGTON — There's no free lunch — or breakfast or dinner — for President Barack Obama on Thanksgiving day. Or any other day for that matter.

    There's No Free Lunch For Obama On Thanksgiving Or Any Other Day

    IS stones to death two alleged gay men in Syria

    IS stones to death two alleged gay men in Syria
    Islamic State (IS) militants stoned to death two young men in Syria's eastern province of Deir al-Zour on charges of having "unlawful" sexual intercourse...

    IS stones to death two alleged gay men in Syria

    'Polar Sea' Doc Explores Climate Change On TV And With Virtual Reality Tech

    'Polar Sea' Doc Explores Climate Change On TV And With Virtual Reality Tech
    TORONTO — It's a 10-part TV documentary series, an interactive web doc, an in-depth online magazine and an experiment in the emerging field of virtual reality.

    'Polar Sea' Doc Explores Climate Change On TV And With Virtual Reality Tech

    Obama's approval rating falls to 39 percent

    Obama's approval rating falls to 39 percent
    Voters were very divided about the executive action measures he has taken to suspend the deportation of millions of undocumented foreigners....

    Obama's approval rating falls to 39 percent

    No trace of MH370 debris till now: Search official

    No trace of MH370 debris till now: Search official
    Over 7,000 sq km of the seafloor has been scoured so far but no debris of the missing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 has been found, the chief coordinator...

    No trace of MH370 debris till now: Search official