“To err is human, but to really foul things up you need a computer.” –Paul Ehrlich
Software errors cost the U.S. economy $60 billion annually in rework, lost productivity and actual damages. We all know software bugs can be annoying, but faulty software can also be expensive, embarrassing, destructive and deadly. Following are 20 famous software “disasters” in chronological order:
1. Mariner Bugs Out (1962)
Cost: $18.5 million
Disaster: The Mariner 1 rocket with a space probe headed for Venus diverted from its intended flight path shortly after launch. Mission Control destroyed the rocket 293 seconds after liftoff.
Cause: A programmer incorrectly transcribed a handwritten formula into computer code, missing a single superscript bar. Without the smoothing function indicated by the bar, the software treated normal variations of velocity as if they were serious, causing faulty corrections that sent the rocket off course. (more)
2. Hartford Coliseum Collapse (1978)
Cost: $70 million, plus another $20 million damage to the local economy
Disaster: Just hours after thousands of fans had left the Hartford Coliseum, the steel-latticed roof collapsed under the weight of wet snow.
Cause: The programmer of the CAD software used to design the coliseum incorrectly assumed the steel roof supports would only face pure compression. But when one of the supports unexpectedly buckled from the snow, it set off a chain reaction that brought down the other roof sections like dominoes. (more)
3. CIA Gives the Soviets Gas (1982)
Cost: Millions of dollars, significant damage to Soviet economy
Disaster: Control software went haywire and produced intense pressure in the Trans-Siberian gas pipeline, resulting in the largest man-made non-nuclear explosion in Earth’s history.
Cause: CIA operatives allegedly planted a bug in a Canadian computer system purchased by the Soviets to control their gas pipelines. The purchase was part of a strategic Soviet plan to steal or covertly obtain sensitive U.S. technology. When the CIA discovered the purchase, they sabotaged the software so that it would pass Soviet inspection but fail in operation. (more)
4. World War III… Almost (1983)
Cost: Nearly all of humanity
Disaster: The Soviet early warning system falsely indicated the United States had launched five ballistic missiles. Fortunately the Soviet duty officer had a “funny feeling in my gut” and reasoned if the U.S. was really attacking they would launch more than five missiles, so he reported the apparent attack as a false alarm.
Cause: A bug in the Soviet software failed to filter out false missile detections caused by sunlight reflecting off cloud-tops. (more)
5. Medical Machine Kills (1985)
Cost: Three people dead, three people critically injured
Disaster: Canada’s Therac-25 radiation therapy machine malfunctioned and delivered lethal radiation doses to patients.
Cause: Because of a subtle bug called a race condition, a technician could accidentally configure Therac-25 so the electron beam would fire in high-power mode without the proper patient shielding. (more)
Wait, there’s more… Continue to Part 2
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Related posts:
- 20 Famous Software Disasters – Part 2
- 20 Famous Software Disasters – Part 3
- 20 Famous Software Disasters – Part 4
- Should All Software Be Free?
- Software Behaving Badly
February 12th, 2008 at 1:45 pm
20 Famous Software Disasters…
You’ve been kicked (a good thing) – Trackback from DotNetKicks.com…
February 12th, 2008 at 1:59 pm
[...] is the final Part 4 of “20 Famous Software Disasters.” See also Part 1, Part 2 and Part [...]
February 12th, 2008 at 2:03 pm
[...] is Part 3 of “20 Famous Software Disasters.” See also Part 1, Part 2 and Part [...]
February 13th, 2008 at 12:17 am
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February 13th, 2008 at 12:36 am
Thanks for the knowledge..Among 20 the most shocking is the Mariner Bugs Out and Hartford. It made me think a lot about computer programming and its defects. Anybody tell me of a good open source project that provides security over software piracy. Someone recommended the site “paragent.com”
Any suggestions or opinions about this would be great.
Thanks In advance,
Shaun
February 13th, 2008 at 12:44 am
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February 13th, 2008 at 2:56 pm
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February 13th, 2008 at 3:26 pm
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February 13th, 2008 at 4:16 pm
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February 13th, 2008 at 4:41 pm
Oh, how I would _hate_ to be the programmer that made one of these mistakes. How heavy must it lie on their conscience — that is, of course, if the programmer knew that _they_ made the mistake.
It’s one thing to have a bug in a program, but when that program is used for situations where a bug could cause death, it’s a totally different matter.
That’s why I’d never write programs that would be used in such situations. Mistakes cannot be prevented from happening. :/
February 14th, 2008 at 8:47 am
[...] The title says it all. DevTopics has a list of the twenty most famous software disasters. [...]
February 14th, 2008 at 10:32 am
please visit http://www.microsoft.com to check on more such disasters ;-)
February 14th, 2008 at 1:12 pm
So how is the Hartford collapse considered a ’software disaster’?
*Was there a flaw in the CAD software?
*Was the CAD software ‘running’ when the roof collapse?
*If it had been designed using traditional methods (pencil, ruler, compass and paper) would that make it a ‘drafter disaster’?
*Wasn’t the CAD ‘programmer’(??) actually the structural engineer who should have known better regardless of the technology used to capture his/her design?
This doesn’t meet the same criteria as the other examples. And yeah, I’m a thin-skinned programmer ;-)
February 15th, 2008 at 4:27 am
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February 16th, 2008 at 4:23 am
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February 16th, 2008 at 1:12 pm
woagh nice post,progammer also human :D, every human can make a mistake :D
February 20th, 2008 at 2:58 pm
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February 21st, 2008 at 4:50 pm
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February 27th, 2008 at 11:34 pm
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March 5th, 2008 at 9:46 am
alriteeee :P
March 23rd, 2008 at 12:50 am
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July 5th, 2008 at 7:58 pm
[...] in rework, lost productivity and actual damages. We all know software bugs can be annoying, but faulhttp://www.devtopics.com/20-famous-software-disasters/JAMA — Abstract: Five Years After To Err Is Human: What Have We …May 18, 2005 … To err Is human [...]
November 9th, 2008 at 11:48 am
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January 24th, 2009 at 12:14 am
Its scarcely world-famous, but we had a fun one with the Navy’s standard missile system in the 1970s, when we tested a “last ditch” defense mode against sea skimmer missiles. After a year of asking, we got permission to launch two war shots at a drone using the mode. We no sooner launched the missiles when the radars slewed to their stowed position and turned themselves off, thanks to a bug in the program for the then-new Mk 152 computers. Our two missiles, having lost all return signal, self-destructed. “Boom” goes a quarter million 1975 dollars. Our tech-reps looked a little bit harried for the rest of that trip….
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January 11th, 2010 at 4:26 am
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January 23rd, 2010 at 9:03 am
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