Y2K News Site Issues Air Travel Public Safety Notice; Documents Timeline of FAA Failures

greenspun.com : LUSENET : TimeBomb 2000 (Y2000) : One Thread

Now don't go jumping on me for the politics of Y2KNEWSWIRE.COM. I'm only passing along a Yahoo Y2K News story. <:)=

CODY, Wyo., June 9 /PRNewswire/ -- Issuing its eighth public safety notice, Y2KNEWSWIRE.COM today warned the American public about the increasing risks in air travel due to what it calls, ``potentially-catastrophic FAA behavior.'' The agency, which claimed 99% Y2K compliance in September, 1998, recently claimed just 92% compliance and finds itself in a string of control system failures at major airports around the country: La Guardia, O'Hare, Dallas / Forth Worth, San Diego and more. In at least two cases, according to the Chicago Tribune, planes were forced to take evasive action. Now a spokesperson from the FAA claims the agency missed the May 1, 1999 deadline ``on purpose'' but will still be ``six months ahead of schedule'' by achieving compliance in July.

Air traffic controllers, pilots and air travelers are showing heightened concern over the string of FAA failures and suspicious-sounding explanations for missed deadlines. One air traffic controllers' association president recently said, ``The FAA has decided to gamble,'' and another official representing the FAA electronics technicians' union said, ``They rushed this system into service, against our wishes, because they want to say we've got another 40 percent of our equipment Y2K compliant.''

Y2KNEWSWIRE.COM interviewed airline pilots and air traffic controllers, documented the FAA timeline of events, and analyzed the compliance claims to reach this conclusion: while the airplanes themselves appear to show very little risk of malfunction due to Y2K glitches, air traffic control seems dangerously mismanaged. Most importantly, Y2KNEWSWIRE discovered that even in cases where air traffic controllers were ``terrified'' or planes were being lost from radar, FAA officials continued to deny safety was compromised and, instead, described such problems as ``wrinkles'' that needed to be ``ironed out.''

Mike Adams, creator of Y2KNEWSWIRE.COM, says, ``As we approach the Year 2000 deadline, I believe there is an increasing likelihood the FAA will compromise public safety in order to meet promised deadlines and avoid public embarrassment.''

Y2KNEWSWIRE.COM provides documenting evidence of these points at: http://www.y2knewswire.com/19990607.htm

Y2KNEWSWIRE.COM is not affiliated with Y2K-Wire(TM), y2knews.com or Year2000.com.

-- Sysman (y2kboard@yahoo.com), June 09, 1999

Answers

Sysman, As you know, I have been a consistent critc of the FAA. The next "deadline" will come and go with them claiming "complete" compliance by Sept. Of course, that deadline will be missed "on purpose" so they can be 100% ready on 12/31/99. The saga of the FAA is going to make someone a Pulitzer prize winner providing we all survive 10 years.

-- RD. ->H (drherr@erols.com), June 09, 1999.

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