美国国家公共电台 NPR Why The Airline Industry Could Keep Suffering System Failures Like Delta's

Why The Airline Industry Could Keep Suffering System Failures Like Delta¹'s

ARI SHAPIRO, HOST:

Delta Airlines canceled more than 500 flights today. That's on top of a thousand flights it canceled yesterday after a power outage brought down Delta's computers. Delta's not the first airline to be grounded by a computer malfunction², and as NPR's Laura Sydell reports, it is not likely to be the last.

LAURA SYDELL, BYLINE³: It was an epic⁴ fail as networks like ABC reported.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

UNIDENTIFIED MAN #1: Delta, the country's second-largest airline, and its passengers - grounded.

UNIDENTIFIED MAN #2: Everything's down right now.

UNIDENTIFIED MAN #3: Everything's down.

UNIDENTIFIED MAN #2: Yeah.

UNIDENTIFIED MAN #1: A computer meltdown that has already delayed more than a third of the airline's 6,000 flights...

SYDELL: Delta's CEO has apologized for the mess. The local utility, Georgia Power, says it was caused by a failed Delta switchgear at its Atlanta data center. Seth Kaplan imagines you may be wondering.

SETH KAPLAN: If every small business on the corner can manage to keep its website running through a cloud-based server and all those sorts of things, why can't Delta Airlines, with all its resources, manage to do that? And obviously it's a fair criticism.

SYDELL: Kaplan is the managing partner of Airline Weekly, an independent publication that follows the airline industry. Kaplan says airlines aren't like other businesses.

KAPLAN: Because they have to worry so much about safety and security, they are constrained⁵ in ways that other businesses aren't. Delta can't just host its systems on Joe Blow's (ph) cloud server or somewhere else in the way that another business might be able to do.

SYDELL: Kaplan says if Delta and other airlines distribute their computing⁶ to many different locations, it will make them more vulnerable to, say, hackers⁷ or terrorists. He says if given a choice between more backup systems and more security, airlines are picking security.

Delta is still investigating what happened. Bob Mann says the failed switch gear was used to connect Delta's computers to the power grid⁸ and to its own backup generators⁹. Mann is a former airline executive who is now an aviation consultant¹⁰.

BOB MANN: They had Georgia Power available at the site. They had their own generators and batteries available at the site. But the automated¹¹ transfer switch seems to have failed in a way that allowed them to use neither of those systems.

SYDELL: Mann says this is a rare malfunction with a part that is usually reliable. Unfortunately even if airlines find a way to prevent another problem with the switch gear, Mann believes other computer failures are likely to happen.

The systems are increasingly complex. Part of it is that the computers are interacting with outside systems - travel agents, apps. And there have been a lot of mergers¹² where two systems have started working together.

MANN: So the size of the networks, the number of devices on those networks continue to expand, and even the most reliable hardware have some probability of failure, however random¹³ and small that is. Thus having more of them around creates greater potential that any one of them could fail.

SYDELL: Delta's computer failure was the second airline fail just this summer. In July, Southwest computers were down for about 12 hours, but flights were canceled for days afterward¹⁴ as the airline struggled to get planes and crews where they were needed. Last summer, United Continental¹⁵ had computer failures that also left passengers stranded¹⁶. The lesson for travelers may be, don't check the bag with your toothbrush. It may come in handy if you're stuck. Laura Sydell, NPR News.

1 delta   

n.（流的）角洲

参考例句：

• He has been to the delta of the Nile.他曾去过尼罗河三角洲。
• The Nile divides at its mouth and forms a delta.尼罗河在河口分岔，形成了一个三角洲。

2 malfunction   

vi.发生功能故障，发生故障，显示机能失常

参考例句：

• There must have been a computer malfunction.一定是出了电脑故障。
• Results have been delayed owing to a malfunction in the computer.由于电脑发生故障，计算结果推迟了。

3 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

4 epic   

n.史诗，叙事诗；adj.史诗般的，壮丽的

参考例句：

• I gave up my epic and wrote this little tale instead.我放弃了写叙事诗，而写了这个小故事。
• They held a banquet of epic proportions.他们举行了盛大的宴会。

5 constrained   

adj.束缚的,节制的

参考例句：

• The evidence was so compelling that he felt constrained to accept it. 证据是那样的令人折服，他觉得不得不接受。
• I feel constrained to write and ask for your forgiveness. 我不得不写信请你原谅。

6 computing   

n.计算

参考例句：

• to work in computing 从事信息处理
• Back in the dark ages of computing, in about 1980, they started a software company. 早在计算机尚未普及的时代（约1980年），他们就创办了软件公司。

7 hackers   

n.计算机迷( hacker的名词复数 )；私自存取或篡改电脑资料者，电脑“黑客”

参考例句：

• They think of viruses that infect an organization from the outside.They envision hackers breaking into their information vaults. 他们考虑来自外部的感染公司的病毒，他们设想黑客侵入到信息宝库中。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Arranging a meeting with the hackers took weeks againoff-again email exchanges. 通过几星期电子邮件往来安排见面，他们最终同意了。 来自互联网

8 grid   

n.高压输电线路网；地图坐标方格；格栅

参考例句：

• In this application,the carrier is used to encapsulate the grid.在这种情况下，要用载体把格栅密封起来。
• Modern gauges consist of metal foil in the form of a grid.现代应变仪则由网格形式的金属片组成。

9 generators   

n.发电机，发生器( generator的名词复数 )；电力公司

参考例句：

• The factory's emergency generators were used during the power cut. 工厂应急发电机在停电期间用上了。
• Power can be fed from wind generators into the electricity grid system. 电力可以从风力发电机流入输电网。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 consultant   

n.顾问；会诊医师，专科医生

参考例句：

• He is a consultant on law affairs to the mayor.他是市长的一个法律顾问。
• Originally,Gar had agreed to come up as a consultant.原来，加尔只答应来充当我们的顾问。

11 automated   

a.自动化的

参考例句：

• The entire manufacturing process has been automated. 整个生产过程已自动化。
• Automated Highway System (AHS) is recently regarded as one subsystem of Intelligent Transport System (ITS). 近年来自动公路系统(Automated Highway System,AHS)，作为智能运输系统的子系统之一越来越受到重视。

12 mergers   

n.（两个公司的）合并( merger的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Mergers fall into three categories: horizontal, vertical, and conglomerate. 合并分为以下三种：横向合并，纵向合并和混合合并。 来自辞典例句
• Many recent mergers are concentrated within specific industries, particularly in retailing, airlines and communications. 现代许多合并企业集中进行某些特定业务，在零售业、民航和通讯业中更是如此。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件

13 random   

adj.随机的；任意的；n.偶然的(或随便的)行动

参考例句：

• The list is arranged in a random order.名单排列不分先后。
• On random inspection the meat was found to be bad.经抽查，发现肉变质了。

14 afterward   

adv.后来；以后

参考例句：

• Let's go to the theatre first and eat afterward. 让我们先去看戏，然后吃饭。
• Afterward,the boy became a very famous artist.后来，这男孩成为一个很有名的艺术家。

15 continental   

adj.大陆的，大陆性的，欧洲大陆的

参考例句：

• A continental climate is different from an insular one.大陆性气候不同于岛屿气候。
• The most ancient parts of the continental crust are 4000 million years old.大陆地壳最古老的部分有40亿年历史。

16 stranded   

a.搁浅的，进退两难的

参考例句：

• He was stranded in a strange city without money. 他流落在一个陌生的城市里， 身无分文，一筹莫展。
• I was stranded in the strange town without money or friends. 我困在那陌生的城市，既没有钱，又没有朋友。