navigation-error
There is uncertainty about their actual location, with the possibility that their navigation is off by hundreds of miles.
2 chapters across 2 books
Pummel in the Tunnel (2000)Leo A. Frankowski
The chapter depicts a dire maritime emergency where the protagonists' boat has been severely damaged, taking on water during a violent storm. Despite their efforts to plug the hole and bail out water manually, their situation deteriorates as the engines and pumps fail, leaving them to face the possibility of sinking or wrecking on an unexpected island. The narrator reflects on the grim reality of their predicament and the uncertain fate that awaits them.
The Making of Incarnation (2023)Tom McCarthy
The chapter intertwines the personal deterioration of Thérèse due to a degenerative illness with Pilkington's detailed orchestration of the Albatross aircraft's landing on the remote Septentrion atoll, highlighting themes of decay, memory, and ritualized technology. It culminates in the disappearance of the experimental plane Jamalac Scoop, caused by a fundamental navigational error in coordinate systems, leading to an unresolved mystery symbolized by the plane's absence on radar and the inconclusive official inquiry.