Larry Dighera wrote:

On Fri, 29 Apr 2005 15:02:19 -0600, Newps wrote
in ::


The aircraft on takeoff roll has to abort and as you
know there could be a million reasons for that. Perhaps it's a non
mechanical reason, and therefore not known by the computer, a deer ran
on to the runway. How does the aircraft on final know what to do? It
all has to be inputted into a computer immediately.


If the computer is aware of the position of the aircraft it is
controlling through GPS interrogation, RADAR/transponder, ADDS-B, or
..., it would be programmed to issue the appropriate instructions to
the aircraft. Beyond departure and destination information, little
else need be "inputted" into the computer.

The computer doesn't know that the aircraft aborted, only that it has
been released and will fly the computer assigned heading. It knows whre
the plane is but not why it isn't doing what it's supposed to.