This near-fatal accident took place in 2019 arising from the failure in the GPS as the plane was approaching the airport for landing, which is the most critical time in flying. The Airbus jet had been cleared to land on a GPS, which transmitted faulty results and thus significantly veered off from the intended flight path. The plane was at 10,700 feet altitude but was nearing a 10,900-foot mountain. The weather was favorable except for the abundance of smoke near the airport, which compromised the visibility (Goward, 2019). Additionally, the geographical location of the airport was intricate because of the mountain peaks, which reach 12,000 feet. Therefore, this requires careful structuring of the planes, ensuring they have a safe distance between them. The underlying navigational challenge was the GPS jamming, which made the plane deviate from the intended flight path. This took the intervention of the local control tower of the airport to give the requisite direction for the intended landing.
The underlying risks of GPS include a disruption in the information related to timing and positioning where the data provided by the devices is erroneous or misleading (Spirent et al., 2018). As planes rely heavily on this data, faults may subject the plane to take a path toward residential areas or mountains, thus posing a risk. This was the case in this near accident because it confused the pilots, compromising the raw data navigation skills, which is a skill pertinent for most experienced pilots (Harris, 2021). Besides, pilots are predominantly addicted and entirely reliant on the GPS, meaning that faulty information would have directed the plane to the adjacent mountains should the ground controllers have failed to react on time.
The risk identified needed to be more precise for the pilots crewing the plane who were flying the plane on poor navigation systems. The piloting skills will not make sense in this case because they think they are on the right path, continuing with the standard practice, not knowing that the position and direction of the plane are out of their control (Harris, 2021). This is a recipe for an accident because the plane is out of control. Thus, safety was compromised entirely. Additionally, the decision-making by the ground controllers seemed plausible, helping to determine why they are essential in the navigation of the planes. They have suitable radar navigation systems capable of determining the plane’s actual position and thus were in a better position to inform the pilots of their deviation from course. It was stated that the possibility of an accident was particular should the air traffic controllers have failed to notice the plane’s deviation from course.
The main lesson stems from the reliance on the GPS by the pilots, which, despite being accurate most of the time, can be compromised, thus a need to double check (Villamizar, 2023). A case was witnessed for the Boring 757 airliner, which was crushed due to a tape over the altitude and speed sensors giving wrong information that brought the plane directly into the mountains. Additionally, it brings the aspect of collaborating with the ground controllers to ensure that the GPS readings are in tandem with reality. Two planes had reported problems with the GPS before this incident, thus calling for Aster to act on challenges witnessed that GPS is constantly monitored to prevent downtime. This aligns with Proverbs 22:3, which stresses the vigilant as prudent who will hide from evil. Thus, a constant check is a way to safeguard against probable risks on the airline (“Review: The NIV Study Bible,” 1987).
References
Goward, D. (2019, July 8). NASA report: Passenger aircraft nearly crashes due to GPS disruption. GPS World. https://www.gpsworld.com/nasa-report-passenger-aircraft-nearly-crashes-due-gps-disruption/
Harris, M. (2021, January 21). FAA Files Reveal a Surprising Threat to Airline Safety: the U.S. Military’s GPS Tests. IEEE Spectrum. https://spectrum.ieee.org/faa-files-reveal-a-surprising-threat-to-airline-safety-the-us-militarys-gps-tests
Review: The NIV Study Bible. (1987). The Bible Translator, 38(1), 144–145. https://doi.org/10.1177/026009358703800106
Spirent Communication Inc. (2018). Fundamentals of GPS Threats: How the Growing Threats to Satellite Navigation Signals Can Impact Your Critical Systems, and What to Do About It. https://assets.ctfassets.net/wcxs9ap8i19s/67lpmubw1C1SEQCYxFuwWs/55525fe58a49ecdfb3928e7cccc4d721/Fundamentals-of-GPS-Threats.pdf
Villamizar, H. (2023, October 13). The Impact of GPS Spoofing on Commercial Aviation. Airways. https://airwaysmag.com/gps-spoofing-commercial-aviation/
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