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

  • Student invents hologram road signs that ‘pulse’ at drivers
    June 5, 2013
    A British student hopes his new hologram road signs which ‘pulse’ at drivers will lead to a revolution in the way motorists are given information on the roads. Nottingham Trent University (NTU) undergraduate Charles Gale has already obtained a patent for his design and is set to meet with transport officials to discuss how it could be used across the UK.
  • Al Jaber and Makhlouf mark reliability at Doha Airport
    August 14, 2015
    Airport markings play an important role in providing guidance to pilots when an aircraft is coming in to land or taxiing, as well as for guiding ground vehicles. Ensuring these markings are in good condition is crucial for safety and requires an effective maintenance strategy by the airport. The quality of the signs and markings regulating traffic at an airport can optimise operating efficiency as well as safety. The visibility of signs, especially night visibility, should meet the requirements of the relev
  • Mobile measuring of road markings
    February 9, 2012
    Road markings and raised pavements markers (RPMs) are important tools in securing efficient and safe traffic flow, and the high visibility of both is an important task in road maintenance, says DELTA.
  • Road Markings to reduce fatal wrong-way driving
    October 31, 2012
    The latest road marking systems have been used to reduce potentially fatal wrong-way driving and promote the recent EURO 2012 football tournament in Poland and Ukraine. Guy Woodford reports According to statistics quoted by leading road marking firm Geveko, a total of 1,753 people were killed in the United States in wrong-way driving accidents from1996-2000. Wrong-way driving is also a significant issue across Europe and other parts of the world. Work to combat the potentially lethal activity took place re