A helicopter was flying around above Seattle when an electrical malfunction disabled all
of the aircraft's electronic navigation and communications equipment. Due to the clouds
and haze, the pilot could not determine the helicopter's position. The pilot saw a tall
building, flew toward it, circled, and held up a handwritten sign that said 'WHERE AM
I?' in large letters. People in the tall building quickly responded to the aircraft, drew a
large sign, and held it in a building window. Their sign said 'YOU ARE IN A
HELICOPTER.'
The pilot smiled, waved, looked at his map, determined the course to steer to SEATAC
airport, and landed safely. After they were on the ground, the copilot asked the pilot how
he had done it.
'I knew it had to be the Microsoft Building, because they gave me a technically correct
but completely useless answer.'