Re: [libreplanet-discuss] Free Software as potential solution to Aircraft Management Systems

[Mary-Anne Wolf]

While I completely appreciate the desire to present about a problem, your 
proposal would be stronger if there were an initial example of a solution, or 
at least a limited partial solution.  Do you think that private pilots or 
others who care about their own safety could be persuaded to adopt a libre 
solution for some part of what they need, without requiring the government to 
demand it of them?  That would seem more possible than trying to override the 
money that motivates actions within government.


Those who oppose any change in government regulation would point out that 
flying is on average safer than driving.  That this is true does not negate the 
concerns that you have, because the number of people killed and injured because 
of driving is too high.  However, you would likely need to be able to respond 
to this point, such as giving examples of airline accidents attributable to bad 
software, accidents that could have been prevented.  I am not aware of any.


Mary-Anne

> On January 14, 2018 at 6:59 AM Marc D Ronell wrote:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
>     Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this paper/presentation/email
>     are the views of the author and do not reflect the official policy
>     or position of any agency of the U.S. government.
> 
> 
>     Hi,
> 
>     For the last couple of Libre-Planet conferences, I have been
>     submitting proposals to give a presentation on concerns with Flight
>     Critical Software oversight at the US Federal Aviation Administration
>     (FAA). The presentation proposals are consistently rejected. I see
>     the free software approach as a potentially good solution to aircraft
>     management software. In my opinion, if there were public access to
>     some of the aircraft management software, there would be a strong
>     drive and incentive to increase software quality, require much higher
>     standards for software developers and engineers who develop and write
>     safety critical systems and force US regulatory agencies to better
>     protect the flying public and not primarily serve large corporate
>     interests. Our agency needs to hire more regulators with strong,
>     legitimate academic credentials, especially related to software and
>     programmable hardware.
> 
>     In my opinion, our most significant problem at the FAA is corruption.
>     We have a vast amount of nepotism, discrimination, gender harassment,
>     inappropriate hiring practices, lack of public and law enforcement
>     oversight, and a key failing to serve the public which funds our
>     agency. As Kade Crockford tried to explain in her keynote address -
>     our biggest problem is not technology, but more a problem with our
>     people, specifically our leadership. Sure we have token minorities
>     and Uncle Tom characters who can be paraded before the public to
>     support management claims, but finding those individuals is one talent
>     our agency does possess. The discrimination directly impacts my work.
> 
>     It is really surreal to hear our president complain about the
>     corruption in places like Haiti and wonder why so few in the US
>     complain about US civil service corruption? We also just took our
>     kids to visit Ellis Island National Park in NYC to learn how proud the
>     US recently was of its previously accommodating immigration policy.
> 
>     I feel like I owe people an apology for failing to bring attention to
>     the problems of which they may not even be aware.
> 
>     I need help with two problems:
>        1. Can someone who has a riseup.net email account and standing please
> 
>     send me an "Invite Code" so that I can get an account and access to
>     use that SMTP server?
>        1. Although I do not see myself as a whistle-blower, I am very
> 
>     sympathetic to individuals who may have tried to inform the public
>     of problems they face. Please consider sending a letter of support
>     to:
> 
>     *Reality L Winner
>     Lincolnton County Jail
>     PO Box 970
>     Lincolnton GA 30817*
> 
>     She has been writing back. You can find out more at
>     https://standwithreality.org/donate/. Understand that the Jail
>     reads everything sent its way, and that in my opinion, we need to
>     be really concerned.
> 
>     Thanks for listening,
> 
>     Marc
>     mronell@member.fsf mailto:mronell@member.fsf .org
> 
> 
>     --
> 
>     Marc Ronell, PhD CSE, PE EE
>     https://ronells.org
>     gpg pub key 4860EDB8 on http://pgp.mit.edu/
>     https://pgp.mit.edu/pks/lookup?op=vindex&search=0x813CC9B94860EDB8 
> https://pgp.mit.edu/pks/lookup?op=vindex&search=0x813CC9B94860EDB8
> 
> 
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