As the passage implies, even something as seemingly simple as an airplane flying in the sky is actually just one part of a large sociotechnical system composed of various human and machine elements, from the pilot and airplane to a series of airports, communication and navigation systems, bureaucracies, regulations, rules and norms of flight, and more.
Although safety rules ordinarily would force a shuttle with a navigation problem to cut short its mission immediately, Columbia is equipped with two back-up units, NASA said.