| Recurring |
one_organization |
(a) The software failure incident related to the baggage sorting device at Dusseldorf Airport in Germany happened again at the same organization. The article mentions a previous incident in August covered by MailOnline where tens of thousands of passengers suffered after a power cut crippled the baggage system at Heathrow Airport's Terminal Five [41425].
(b) There is no specific information in the provided article about the software failure incident happening again at multiple organizations. |
| Phase (Design/Operation) |
design, operation |
(a) The software failure incident at Dusseldorf Airport was attributed to a design issue related to the system not recognizing February 29 as a valid date due to a software problem. The article mentions that the baggage sorting device failed to recognize the leap year date as a 'sort criterion' because of a software problem introduced during system development [41425].
(b) The operation of the system also played a role in the software failure incident. The article mentions that the issues with the baggage sorting device started at 5.45 am on what the system believed was March 1, leading to disruptions in the baggage handling system. The airport staff had to manually transfer the luggage to the planes to mitigate the situation caused by the software failure [41425]. |
| Boundary (Internal/External) |
within_system |
(a) The software failure incident at Dusseldorf Airport was within the system. The issue was specifically related to the baggage sorting device's software not recognizing February 29 as a valid date due to a software problem. The system failed to handle the leap year date correctly, causing disruptions in the baggage handling process [41425]. |
| Nature (Human/Non-human) |
non-human_actions, human_actions |
(a) The software failure incident at Dusseldorf Airport was due to a non-human action, specifically a software problem related to the leap year date recognition. The baggage sorting device failed to recognize February 29 as a valid date, causing disruptions in the baggage handling system [41425].
(b) Human actions were involved in responding to the software failure incident. The airport staff had to manually transfer the luggage to the planes and make arrangements to send the stranded suitcases and bags to the holidaymakers. Additionally, the software company had to provide an update to solve the problem caused by the software not recognizing the leap year date [41425]. |
| Dimension (Hardware/Software) |
software |
(a) The software failure incident at Dusseldorf Airport was primarily due to a software issue. The article mentions that the baggage sorting device faced a software problem where it failed to recognize February 29 as a valid date, causing disruptions in the baggage handling system [41425].
(b) The software failure incident at Dusseldorf Airport was specifically attributed to a software problem. The article states that the reason for the issue was a software problem where the system didn't recognize February 29 as a 'sort criterion,' leading to disturbances in the baggage handling system [41425]. |
| Objective (Malicious/Non-malicious) |
non-malicious |
(a) The software failure incident at Dusseldorf Airport was non-malicious. The incident was attributed to a software problem that arose due to the system not recognizing February 29 as a valid date, causing disruptions in the baggage handling system. The issue was resolved with an update from the software company, and the airport staff worked to send the remaining baggage to the correct destinations as quickly as possible to minimize inconvenience to passengers [41425]. |
| Intent (Poor/Accidental Decisions) |
accidental_decisions |
From the provided article [41425], the software failure incident at Dusseldorf Airport was due to a software problem related to the leap year date recognition. The incident occurred because the baggage sorting device failed to recognize February 29 as a valid date, causing disruptions in the baggage handling system. This issue was attributed to a software problem where the system did not consider February 29 as a 'sort criterion'. The failure was not a result of poor decisions but rather an accidental decision or mistake in the software logic that led to the disruption in baggage delivery. |
| Capability (Incompetence/Accidental) |
development_incompetence, accidental |
(a) The software failure incident at Dusseldorf Airport was attributed to a software problem caused by a lack of professional competence in handling the leap year date. The system failed to recognize February 29 as a valid date, leading to disruptions in the baggage handling system [41425].
(b) The incident was accidental in nature as it was not planned for the system to fail to recognize the leap year date. The software company had to provide an update to resolve the issue, indicating that the failure was unintentional and unexpected [41425]. |
| Duration |
temporary |
The software failure incident at Dusseldorf Airport related to the leap year issue was temporary. The issue occurred on the leap day, February 29, and was resolved by an update from the software company around noon on the same day, allowing the baggage handling system to function properly again [41425]. |
| Behaviour |
omission, value, other |
(a) crash: The software failure incident at Dusseldorf Airport was not a crash where the system lost state and did not perform any of its intended functions. The system was still operational but failed to recognize February 29 as a valid date, causing issues with baggage sorting [41425].
(b) omission: The software failure incident can be categorized as an omission since the system omitted to perform its intended functions at the instance of February 29, resulting in the failure to deliver luggage to the correct locations [41425].
(c) timing: The timing of the software failure incident was related to the system performing its intended functions incorrectly in terms of recognizing February 29 as a valid date. This caused the system to operate as if it was March 1, leading to delays and issues with baggage delivery [41425].
(d) value: The software failure incident can also be attributed to a value failure as the system performed its intended functions incorrectly by not recognizing February 29 as a valid date for sorting luggage, which resulted in the failure to deliver bags to the correct destinations [41425].
(e) byzantine: The software failure incident at Dusseldorf Airport does not exhibit characteristics of a byzantine failure where the system behaves erroneously with inconsistent responses and interactions. The issue was more straightforward in terms of the system failing to recognize a specific date [41425].
(f) other: The behavior of the software failure incident can be described as a date-related anomaly where the system's software problem specifically stemmed from not recognizing February 29 as a valid date, leading to disruptions in baggage handling operations [41425]. |