The Vigilante and the Air Traffic Controller

Cautionary Tales with Tim Harford - A podcast by Pushkin Industries - Fridays

Air traffic controllers are meant to stop aircrafts from flying into one another... and if they fail, computer systems are installed to warn pilots of a coming collision. But sometimes these humans and computers give conflicting and confusing advice. Who to believe? When a cargo plane and a Russian airliner collided in just such a situation, the authorities scrambled to work out how to prevent a repeat of the disaster... but a grieving father decided to seek revenge on those he held responsible.  For a full list of sources for this episode, go to timharford.com.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.