user mode programs causing power down is not an app bug
Of course, from the point of view of "can't be used" it is the same.
Now, why would Jepessen be doing something "funny" and powering down iPads is the answer I want to hear.
That seems to be inaccurate. American Airlines confirms "several dozen flights" which is probably less.
http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2015/apr/29/apple-ipad...
And the fix was available through nearest Wi-Fi. Leaving cockpit a few minutes. The horror!
"In some cases, the flight has had to return to the gate to access a Wi-Fi connection to fix the issue. " http://www.theverge.com/2015/4/28/8511993/ipad-issue-grounds...
For an airliner, yes, the horror.
Why would you want to downplay the dangers of pilots losing access to their flight manuals?
If it happens at an actually critical time, they can have the ATC read the relevant sections to them.
Nothing safety critical would have been entrusted to the iPad. The pilots would be able to deal with the problem with either ATC support (anything the pilots can read to each other, ATC can read to them) or backup papers.
Yes, if you're on the ground, you won't be taking off without the stuff, but that's obvious when it can be fixed by the pilot getting out for a few minutes.
People don't screw around with plane safety. The failure mode of 'our iPads turned off' will have been considered as a prelude to their being introduced.
I'm afraid I must disagree here. The iPad is a replacement for a bunch of paper manuals and maps and charts which are the backups to the ones contained in the flight computers. So if your iPad doesn't work any more, you don't have a backup anymore and that is safety critical.
http://www.cnet.com/news/american-airlines-pilots-to-use-ipa...
EFBs have a long history in the cockpit. Charts are required to be carried by FAR, but honestly, a scheduled commercial flight genuinely needing to consult one in anger is very rare. That was the impetus to get the FAA to approve iPads for EFB use in the first place, I think, was pilots making the case that they're needed so infrequently that an iPad is fine.
Threads like this make me wish there was more general awareness of what goes on in the cockpit, because I think it would go a long way toward assuaging unnecessary fear. Aviation is one of those rare regulation success stories where pretty much everything has been thought of.