FAA head books flight for New Year's

By Reuters

Special to CNET News.com

May 7, 1999, 1:50 p.m. PT

WASHINGTON--If doomsday prophets are right about flying and the year 2000 computer bug, the top U.S. airline regulator will probably be among the first to know about it. Federal Aviation Administration chief Jane Garvey has booked a flight from Washington to Dallas on New Year's Eve and will be in the air when the Greenwich Mean Time clock that controls air navigation rolls over to the year 2000. Garvey and FAA Year 2000 computer bug coordinator, Ray Long, have been promising since last year to fly on New Year's Eve to allay public fears about flying through the date rollover. Do you want to know more? View story in The Big Picture Go to Message Boards Search News.com The Year 2000, or Y2K, problem arises because many computers and their programs allocated just two digits for the year in dates. Unless repaired or replaced, these computers may misread the Year 2000 as 1900 or simply fail to work. The problem has caused some doomsday prophets to predict that jetliners will not be able to fly when the date changes, or that air traffic control computers will be disrupted by the arrival of the year 2000. The FAA said today the agency had purchased tickets for Garvey and Long on New Year's Eve on American Airlines. Garvey and Long are due to depart Washington's Reagan National Airport on American Airlines Flight 1799 at 6:06 p.m. EST (2306 GMT). Since air navigation works off Greenwich Mean Time, five hours ahead of U.S. Eastern Standard Time at the end of the year, the two will be in the air when the critical hour, 7 p.m. EST, arrives. American Airlines said the trip by the FAA chief was a vote of confidence in the company's Y2K computer overhaul. "We appreciate the administrator's confidence in us,'' said Chris Chiames, a spokesman for American Airlines, which has spent $200 million on renovating its own computers. The FAA has pledged to have all its systems free of Year 2000 bugs by the end of June. A recent full-scale test of air traffic computer repairs in Colorado was declared a success.

-- Norm (nwo@hotmail.com), May 09, 1999

Answers

This has already been posted Norm - by YOU actually, are you losing it buddy?

-- Andy (2000EOD@prodigy.net), May 09, 1999.

I do apologise. I have no memory of that - perhaps you could post a link?

-- Norm (nwo@hotmail.com), May 10, 1999.

Link here

http://www.greenspun.com/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg.tcl?msg_id=000oKa

-- Andy (2000EOD@prodigy.net), May 10, 1999.

In other words, Andy, Norm had never posted this before. Why the hostility towards him? Is he any different from those who post only bad news? Like yourself? I notice he never takes cheap pot shots at you, and you are far more, er, prolific when it comes to amount of content. What's up?

-- Middle (ground@expectinghostility.com), May 10, 1999.

Andy dislikes fact-checking.

-- I've noticed (apattern@Andy.posts), May 10, 1999.

Careful Norman ! Your stupidity is showing again ! ANYONE can book a flight ; they can also CANCEL !!! Your MAMMA .

-- Your Mamma (e999eagle@freewwweb.com), May 10, 1999.

Yo Mama! You go, go, go!! Exactly what I was thinking!

-- Moore Dinty moore (not@thistime.com), May 11, 1999.