Techworld reports Techworld.com that a Microsoft server crash nearly caused 800-plane pile-up as a result of a “major breakdown” in the Southern California air traffic control system last month. Air traffic controllers were using personal cell phones to relay information!

The original Unix system migrated to Windows over the past three years. Because the Windows servers will automatically shut down every 49.7 days to “prevent a data overload,” the servers are supposed to be manually rebooted every 30 days. An “improperly trained” employee failed to initiate the reboot, leading to the shutdown.