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

  • Tasmania to get used tyre crumbing plant
    March 14, 2022
    The project is part of the Australian state’s move towards more crumb rubber for road asphalt.
  • Regulating Kenya’s boda boda business
    July 28, 2015
    Kenya’s many motorcycle taxis have an unenviably poor record for road safety - Shem Oirere writes. A state-owned road safety agency in Kenya is grappling with enforcement of new traffic regulations aimed at reducing the number of road accidents involving two-wheeled motorcycle taxis, popularly known as boda boda. The latest statistics indicate that fatalities relating to these vehicles shot up by 58% during the first four months of 2015. Experts have concurred with a previous study by the World Health Or
  • Solutions to road user charging
    April 11, 2012
    In this second of a two-part article, Jack Opiola, demonstrates that the imposition of a government provided GPS mandate to levy mileage tax could be eliminated by offering motorists transparent choices regarding their manner of compliance. The key to a mileage tax system without a GPS mandate is through offering motorists choices. Most motorists are consumers who are comfortable with selecting products and services from among options available in the marketplace. A mileage tax can be built upon this reali
  • Solutions to road user charging
    February 28, 2012
    In this second of a two-part article, Jack Opiola, demonstrates that the imposition of a government provided GPS mandate to levy mileage tax could be eliminated by offering motorists transparent choices regarding their manner of compliance. The key to a mileage tax system without a GPS mandate is through offering motorists choices. Most motorists are consumers who are comfortable with selecting products and services from among options available in the marketplace. A mileage tax can be built upon this realit