If you found this article interesting you might also want to read Normal Accidents http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Normal_Accidents http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No

If you found this article interesting you might also want to read Normal Accidents http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Normal_Accidents http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Normal_Accidents which details many similar accidents in planes, ships, nuclear power plants, and more. The author proposes a model for identifying complex, tightly coupled systems in which operators have little chance of avoiding error. The parallels to operational failure in complex, tightly coupled software are evident (at least they seem so to me).