Hacker News Reader

Tangentially related: In 1988, Iran Air flight 655 was shot down by an American missile cruiser, killing 290 people. It was likely due to a UI problem with the aircraft tracking system on the cruiser that reused an ID number from a potential enemy fighter aircraft. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iran_Air_Flight_655

View on HN

> The Aegis System software reuses tracking numbers in its display, constituting a user interface design flaw. The Aegis software initially assigned on-screen identifier TN4474 to Flight 655. Then just seconds before the Vincennes fired, the Aegis software switched the Flight 655 tracking number to TN4131 and recycled Flight 655's old tracking number of TN4474 to label a fighter jet 110 miles away. When the captain asked for a status on TN4474, he was told it was a fighter and descending.[42] Scientific American rated it as one of the worst user interface disasters.[43]

Ooof that is a boneheaded design decision.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com