My mother (Estabrook 6.5) works for a large travel agency, in the IT department. (they won't take her seriously. don't want to spend the money) Yesterday she told me that she heard through some grapevine that the FAA installed new "compliant" software in a number of US airports, and that it did not work, so they deinstalled it and will keep it around "for backup, just in case."

I realize that is heresay, and I've been looking all over the web all morning for any indication that this is more than just a rumor. Nothing. Anybody else out there come across anything that sounds remotely similar? Or have better searching powers?

Also - the owner of my company and some other co-workers(brand design and strategy agency) were on a business trip and said that they met my "soulmate", some guy at Motorola who was saying to take money out of the bank, store food, global economic crash, etc. Glad they're also hearing it from someone else...

-- pshannon (pshannon@inch.com), November 19, 1998

Answers

It sounds like the problems they're having at O'Hare in Chicago. There's a newspaper story on this called "O'Hare's New Radar Shelved." Here's the link:

http://www.suntimes.com/output/news/faa14i.html

-- Kevin (mixesmusic@worldnet.att.net), November 19, 1998.

# # # 19981119

Hi, PShannon,

_This sounds like the "Rumor" you're referring too. ...

Regards, Bob Mangus ====================

[BEGIN] Gary North's Y2K Links and Forums

Summary and Comments (feel free to mail this page)

---------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------- Category: Shipping_and_Transportation Date: 1998-11-17 08:25:40 Subject: O'Hare Airport's New Radar System Doesn't Work Properly; Scrapped Link: http://www.suntimes.com/output/news/faa14i.html Comment: The Federal Aviation Administration's Jane Garvey has a problem. The new radar system at the most crowded airport in the U.S. doesn't work.

It was supposed to solve the y2k problem. It doesn't solve certain side effects.

The problem is, it was supposed to work. Everyone was assured it would work. But it doesn't work.

It's like y2k compliance. Everyone says the systems will be compliant. But they aren't compliant.

This is from the Chicago SUN-TIMES (Nov. 14).

* * * * * * * *

What the Federal Aviation Administration saw as the solution to a Y2K problem for its radar here has become a Y98 problem, creating trouble for air traffic controllers.

FAA officials said their new Automated Radar Terminal System software was installed to preempt millennium bug problems.

But it also allowed air traffic controllers to ``double stack'' approaching planes five to 60 miles away from O'Hare Airport. . . .

Double-stacking tests ran for two hours a day until controllers began complaining about the software. Granger has said glitches in the new software caused double imaging, lost aircraft and other problems in tracking planes.

On Sunday, the agency will start using the old software again, FAA officials and air traffic controllers said. The new software ``will operate as a backup,'' said FAA spokesman Don Zochert. . . .

The FAA is still using the new software in New York, Denver and Southern California.

Link: http://www.suntimes.com/output/news/faa14i.html ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ----------

[END] # # #

-- Robert Mangus (rmangus@mail.netquest.com), November 19, 1998.

It's no rumor. It happened in Chicago and there WAS a failure here in San Diego, CA that was directly linked to a newly installed system.

Mike ====================================================================

-- Michael Taylor (mtdesign3@aol.com), November 19, 1998.

Now why didn't I just go looking for this on Gary's site in the first place? Silly me...

-- pshannon (pshannon@inch.com), November 19, 1998.

http://chicagotribune.com/version1/article/0,1575,SAV-9810290173,00.ht ml

http://www.msnbc.com/local/wmaq/41566.asp

-- here's more (here@ya.go), November 19, 1998.