Worldwide safety alert issued for thousands of tourist planes over fears take off and landing technology could be hacked

A WORLDWIDE safety alert has been issued for thousands of tourist planes over fears take off and landing technology could be hacked.

A potential issue was found with Boeing’s Onboard Performance Tool, a mobile app which uses data such as weather and weight for pilots to make safety calculations.

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A worldwide safety alert has been issued for thousands of tourist planes[/caption]

The potential issue could let hackers trick pilots into using the wrong settings, potentially causing a crash, by tampering with data.

A safety alert was issued by the US Federal Aviation Administration earlier this month after researchers identified the problem.

Boeing said it was unaware of any aeroplanes being affected by the issue, the Telegraph reports.

A spokesman said: “We are committed to evaluating original research that is conducted and shared in a responsible manner and thank Pen Test Partners for their professionalism and collaboration.

“While we are not aware of any aeroplane affected by this issue, our team released a software update and service bulletin to our customers last year to further enhance security and minimise the already-low risk of interference.”

Researchers Pen Test Partners’ said a vital database in the app was not locked to prevent unauthorised changes.

Boss Ken Munro said the app could have been “calculating and putting out the wrong data” to pilots.

Hackers could have, for instance, secretly changed the logged length of airport runways, increasing the risk of pilots crashing as they take off or land.

It comes amid several airline software safety scares.

Last year it was revealed Tui pilots could have been using the wrong settings because software made them think the plane was lighter than it was.

Its software was recording all passengers titled ‘Miss’ as having the weight of a child – rather than an adult – meaning the programme made incorrect weight calculations.

Tui said it upgraded its systems after the problem was reported.

Many security researchers have argued that airlines could be hacked.

But experts say it is impossible for hackers to take control of the computerised systems.

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