Skip to main content

Apple’s aviation inaccuracies

Two drivers in Alaska caused some concern to aviation movements by following directions from Apple Maps. The drivers first crossed the taxiway and then the runway at Fairbanks Airport. How they were able to enter the supposedly secure airport however has not been revealed and nor have their IQ ratings. The drivers ignored numerous signposts and painted markings saying that the area they were entering was restricted to aircraft and not for road vehicles. The airport authorities erected barriers until the map
February 19, 2014 Read time: 2 mins
Two drivers in Alaska caused some concern to aviation movements by following directions from Apple Maps. The drivers first crossed the taxiway and then the runway at Fairbanks Airport. How they were able to enter the supposedly secure airport however has not been revealed and nor have their IQ ratings. The drivers ignored numerous signposts and painted markings saying that the area they were entering was restricted to aircraft and not for road vehicles. The airport authorities erected barriers until the maps could be corrected.

This is one of a series of blunders in the Apple Maps function. Drivers in Ireland looking for Dublin Airport were for a time directed to a farm called Airfield, some 17km from their proper destination. Meanwhile in Victoria, Australia, police at one point criticised inaccurate directions to the town of Mildura as being potentially life threatening. Apple customers could take note that old-fashioned maps are able to operate faultlessly without the need for either an electrical supply or a GSM signal and do not have issues with battery life. Meanwhile also in the US, the pilot of a light aircraft caused some disturbance to motorists when he had to make an emergency landing on a highway in Florida.

The engine of his aircraft began to fail and the pilot realised he was not going to be able to reach the nearest airstrip. He immediately began looking for the nearest stretch of straight road and managed to land the historic aircraft on State Road 415 without injury, although he did cause some traffic disturbance.

Related Content

  • The hanging Honda
    August 10, 2018
    Police in Toronto are still mystified as to how and why a stripped-out Honda was left dangling from a busy bridge. At first it was thought the car had been placed there as part of a movie shoot, but it was quickly realised that this was not the case and no request had been filed to carry out such a stunt. The car was stripped of any identification as well as many mechanical components, reducing its weight sufficiently for it to be suspended from a single cable. After a period left hanging, the vehicle was l
  • Airport's high demands on asphalt and concrete techniques
    July 11, 2012
    Airport runway, taxiway and parking areas make high demands on paving requirements, both with concrete and asphalt techniques. Mike Woof reports. High quality surface finishes are required in airport environments for runways, taxiways and aircraft parking areas. Because of the speed at which aircraft take off and land and the massive forces exerted due to the weight of the aircraft, particularly during landing, runway structures need to be incredibly strong. The surfaces also have to be constructed to very
  • Reduced traffic may not mean fewer crashes
    May 8, 2020
    Reduced traffic may not mean that there are fewer crashes on the world’s roads.
  • Airport runway rebuild at Bologna
    May 15, 2019
    Rebuilding a runway requires special attention to detail to maximise efficiency and safety Airport runways face special challenges with regard to the loads they carry on a daily basis, particularly when aircraft are landing. A modern jet aircraft will typically land at speeds of around 240-260km/h, with a laden 747 weighing as much as 265tonnes at the end of a long flight. The stresses these large aircraft place on runway surfaces are enormous and not just with the massive impact forces exerted during