In the last month attempts have been made to reverse that verdict by arguing that the crash was caused by faulty safety-critical engine control software. Information is emerging about results of testing carried out by the Ministry of Defence and published internally 9 months before the crash. The disclosed documents are fascinating: they refer to static code analysis which measured a defect density so high it was abandoned, detail the use of an undocumented processor feature, and conclude that the software should be rewritten before release. [http://www.computerweekly.com/blogs/tony_collins/2010/01/post-16.html retrieved 21st January 2010]

More recently, 26 Chinooks have crashed in Afghanistan since 2001. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Coalition_aircraft_losses_in_Afghanistan retrieved 21st January 2010]. Reporting one of them, war journalist Bill Roggio noted that “No matter what the cause … mechanical problems, pilot error, or … shootdown - the number of helicopter and fixed wing aircraft crashes caused by [enemy action] is remarkably low”. [http://www.longwarjournal.org/threat-matrix/archives/2009/10/us_helos_crash_in_afghanistan.php retrieved 21st January 2010] Could the mechanical failure to which he refers actually be software failure?