https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=37401864 has the direct source (the NATS article & report)

> the system did what it was designed to do, i.e. fail safely when it receives data that it can't process

I am no expert in air traffic control systems, but in a case like this, wouldn't it be better to simply reject the incorrect data and send a warning or something similar?

Yeah software made in the uk is far from great. That’s why if you want high quality software you send work to east europe. Lots of contracts are now heading that way since the skilled labour cant come here.

The report states the software came from Frequentis AG, of Austria

Well not an exactly high standard in software quality country either. Should have sent it to east europe for something that actually works.

How do you know where the software was written? There's probably a high chance that it was outsourced several times to end up being written in... (insert whatever your stereotype prefers), but that's also just speculation on my side.