From friend in Australia on the east coast - she also has posted on this list before...

Subject: Something is fishy Date: Thu, 20 Jan 2000 21:28:55 +1100

Just taking the time to write you all a quick note. There is something very strange going on here.

About 1 1/2 weeks ago, our phones went out one day for about 4 hours. I didn't even know they were out at first - but every time I would try to call anywhere, I would get a busy signal. Finally, I used my mobile phone to call repairs and they told me that the "system had fallen over" and everywhere was out from here up through almost all of Queensland.

Anyway, yesterday afternoon at abuot 3 PM, the same exact thing happened and then, about 1 hour later, the power went out. The power was out for about 1 1/2 hours but the phones didn't come back on until about 8 PM. I heard later that a power station in Armidale - about 4 hours west of here, blew up and knocked out all power to the entire North Coat of NSW. Now, here is the wierd bit. There was NOTHING about it on the TV or radio.

OK - so at 3 PM today, the phones go out AGAIN! They have only just come back on - 9"18 PM. Now, I have lived here for 11 years and in all that time I can remember our phones going out twice - and it was because of bad storms both times. Now, in a period of less than 2 weeks, the phones are out 3 times! Oh, and one more thing - today, my mobile phone went down at the same time as the rest of them.

I may be getting paranoid, but somehow I feel that something is going on that we are not being told about. That and the fact that every light plane in Australia has been grounded and may be grounded indefinitely (we can't even get our crops sprayed because the crop dusters are all grounded too - even helicopters!) Now the price of petrol is going through the roof because of all these plants closing down and 2 nuclear power plants in the US shut down "unexpectedly" yesterday. I don't know, is it just me or are things starting to show a bit of wear around the edges. Love to know what you guys think of all this?

Meryl W. Dorey, meryl@avn.org.au

-- Sheri Nakken (wncy2k@nccn.net), January 20, 2000

Answers

The problem with the light planes is probably related to the fuel contamination. I forget the specific details, but the tank that was supposed to contain airplane fuel was accidentally loaded with another type of fuel. Even after they flushed out the tank and put the proper type of fuel in, it was discovered that planes fueled from the tank were experiencing engine problems. Apparently residues of the other fuel type remained in the tank and contaminated the new fuel. The new fuel then contaminated the fuel tanks in airplanes, etc. I read about it a week or two ago. Search some on-line australian newspapers for the actual news.

Hope this explains the small plane problems.

-- slz (slzattas@erols.com), January 20, 2000.

Roleigh Martin's comments on the plane fuel problem... roleigh_for_web@egroups.com The problem occured starting last Nov., how could Y2K be involved back then?

I should have included in the excerpt:

"Mobil says it inadvertently altered the refining cycle for Avgas 100/130 at the plant Nov. 21 and added corrosion retardants out of the proper sequence, which left traces of ethyl diamine in the finished product. The thick contaminant forms when the ethyl diamine reacts with copper and brass engine components, Mobil said."

Now if the problem was due to a Oct/Nov. installed upgrade that was needed for Y2K and it was that upgrade that failed, then yes, Y2K could be involved.

Again, the lawyers will have to scout this out. This is going to generate a big time law suit, according to the article.

Roleigh

-- Sheri Nakken (wncy2k@nccn.net), January 20, 2000.

Then another report came along on Jan 16th... An Australian newspaper investigated and said the Civil Aviation Safety Authority knew about the contaminated fuel in 1998. At that time, aircraft engine failures were happening. Yet, the Air Transport Safety Bureau said it learned about the ongoing problem just 3 days ago. That's why this "sounds" like a y2k event. Maybe the ATSB is using Y2k as a cover? http://www.excite.com.au/news/story/aap/20000116/10/domestic/ fuel-casa-fed.inp

-- Lee Maloney (leemaloney@hotmail.com), January 21, 2000.