Hawaii missile alert: How one employee ‘pushed the wrong button’ and caused a wave of panic

cornerof5thandvermouth:

rudescience:

evolution-is-just-a-theorem:

disexplications:

disexplications:

Around 8:05 a.m., the Hawaii emergency employee initiated the internal test, according to a timeline released by the state. From a drop-down menu on a computer program, he saw two options: “Test missile alert” and “Missile alert.” He was supposed to choose the former; as much of the world now knows, he chose the latter, an initiation of a real-life missile alert.

“In this case, the operator selected the wrong menu option,” HEMA spokesman Richard Rapoza told The Washington Post on Sunday.

So if your hand slips, you send a warning of impending death to over a million people.

This is what the screen actually looks like:

The operator was supposed to click “DRILL – PACOM (CDW) –  STATE ONLY” and instead clicked “PACOM (CDW) –  STATE ONLY”.

I am now *amazed* this has never happened before. How frequently do any of those buttons get pushed?

What the actual fuck. 

I haven’t seen a worse UI than that in a long time. 

well that ain’t exactly great design

Hawaii missile alert: How one employee ‘pushed the wrong button’ and caused a wave of panic