A few days ago papers were reporting about the cause of a plane wreck that took 6 lives in 2004. The investigations revealed that
that over reliance of the pilot on his GPS has lead to the plane crash.
The pilot was very experienced with about 20 years flying experience. The day was a miserable cold, foggy day with very little visibility.
The GPS on which the pilot was relying had stopped receiving signals - the reasons are not known. GPS had shut down and was on simulator mode. It was giving some pre loaded directions nothing to do with where and how the plane was travelling.
The pilot had missed this crucial fact and was flying his plane straight into a tree lined ridge. The ATC assumed that the pilot was trying to land from another point. They warned him about the change of course and left it at that. By the time they found where he was heading it was too late.
The experienced pilot and his passengers had crashed into a ridge assuming they were landing at the airport all the while relying on faulty GPS signals.
A tragedy could have been avoided if pilot had checked with the ATC about his actual location and what his GPS was telling him...
There are many other funny stories how GPS has lead people astray - but this particular incident highlight how quickly a mistake can turn into a tragedy...
Mostly technology is safe and more reliable than a human being but there is no substitute for common sense. Take care use your GPS with common sense and care...
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