Equipment Failures

The first sign of trouble was a glitch that appeared in the air speed sensors. Inside the sleek cockpit of Air France Flight 447, according to aviation experts, the crew would within minutes be confronted with a cascade of mysterious system failures. The atmosphere of a routine international flight would vanish. Warning lights would be flashing and alarms would sound as one high-technology system after another of the highly automated jetliner began going off line.

A sophisticated flight-control system that relies on electronic instruments and computers came under growing scrutiny Thursday as investigators tried to unravel the mysterious crash of an Air France Airbus 330 into the Atlantic.

About 160 China Eastern Airlines passengers remained stranded in Los Angeles on Tuesday night, more than two days after their flight to Shanghai was delayed because of problems with the plane's landing gear. The Airbus A380 was originally scheduled to take off at 1:30 p.m. Sunday, but mechanical problems arose as the plane began to taxi. Passengers remained onboard for about four hours as repairs were made, but they were eventually told to disembark.

Federal inspectors are investigating the failure of an emergency generator at the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station during three tests in late December. The diesel generator is one of two that provide electricity to safety systems in the event of a power outage at the plant near San Clemente. Emergency generators are tested monthly. Inspectors from the U.S.

Three years ago, the Los Angeles Police Department installed surveillance cameras in MacArthur Park, leading to a significant drop in gang activity and drug dealing in an area long considered a hotbed of crime. But as the City Council today considers adding new cameras near the park, police officials concede that much of the existing equipment isn't working and that they don't have the money to properly maintain it. "Some of the cameras work and some do not," said LAPD Deputy Chief Sergio Diaz.

Responding to reports that some police-operated surveillance cameras in MacArthur Park were inoperable and without funding for maintenance, the Los Angeles City Council approved a plan Wednesday to install six new cameras in the neighborhood while demanding more accountability for the equipment already there. Councilman Ed Reyes had planned to ask the council for $150,000 to add six security cameras to the 6th Street corridor in the Westlake District near the park.

Senior government officials said Saturday that they were closely watching a failing U.S. spy satellite that had begun the process of "de-orbiting" and cautioned that the large device was no longer controllable and could hit the Earth as early as late February. "Appropriate government agencies are monitoring the situation," said Gordon Johndroe, a spokesman for the National Security Council. "Numerous satellites over the years have come out of orbit and fallen harmlessly.

Electronic voting was widely embraced -- with the help of the federal government -- as the cure for inaccuracies in vote counting that roiled the 2000 presidential election. But eight years later, the fix has spawned a new round of bitter controversy. Uncertainty, legal challenges and, in some cases, chaos are gripping voting offices as they contend with allegations that the electronic machines are ridden with defects and vulnerable to manipulation.

Dubai slowed, New Delhi wobbled and Irvine inched along. Two cables carrying Internet traffic under the Mediterranean Sea were snapped Wednesday, disrupting business half a world away. The Internet's speed and resilience have fueled the globalization of many kinds of work, such as call centers, software development and data entry. But the rare Internet traffic jam or accident can wreak havoc in far-flung places. In Irvine, Anjay Bajaj's business felt the effects immediately.

Karl Goetz looked at his Prada-branded cellphone Friday morning and saw a message he had never seen before. "Rejected connection." It was another way of saying his high-end phone was suddenly as useful for making calls as a pair of Prada pumps. But fashion was not to blame. The problem was with the premium cellphone service Voce, which mysteriously shut down Friday.