FAA Issues Warning About Potential Boeing 787 Software Bug That Could Cause Loss of Aircraft Control After 248 Days
The FAA has warned airlines that a potential software bug in Boeing 787 aircraft could cause a generator control unit overflow after 248 days of continuous operation, leading to loss of AC power and possible loss of aircraft control, prompting an airworthiness directive for a software fix.
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The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has issued a warning to airlines after discovering a potential software bug in Boeing 787 aircraft that could cause pilots to lose control of the plane. The bug, similar to a classic integer overflow, is related to the generator control unit (GCU). After 248 days of continuous power supply, an internal counter in the GCU overflows, causing the aircraft to lose all AC power and potentially leading to loss of control. The FAA has issued a new airworthiness directive requiring airlines to wait for a software fix. Boeing is developing an upgraded software for the GCU. Based on the 248‑day trigger, programmers suspect a 32‑bit integer overflow bug, as 2^31 microseconds equals approximately 248.55 days.
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