OTHER NEWS - Dec. 16, 1991

Boeing Software Issue: A former Boeing computer expert claims that company officials downplayed his discovery of a potentially dangerous flaw in a software program that monitors key moving parts of Boeing 747-400 jets. Darrell Smith, a computer-software engineer hired by Boeing in 1989, said in published reports that he resigned in June, 1990, after company officials failed to take seriously the conclusions of his report. Smith said that his audit concluded that a complex software program that runs “proximity switches” on Boeing 747-400s is “grossly inadequate” and could feed dangerously erroneous information to other airplane computers during flight. Boeing spokesman Chris Villiers said Smith’s concerns had been “addressed and resolved.”