The Federal Aviation Administration has set up a special office to revamp its air traffic computers but some experts believe the task will not be completed in time. Doubts about air safety in the first few days of 2000 could be disastrous, Koskinen predicted. Koskinen, a former White House director of management, established his credentials as a crisis manager when a battle between the administration and the Republicans in Congress over the budget resulted in the shutdown of the federal government in 1995. It was Koskinen who ensured that chaos was averted. Even if he can prevent disaster this time in America, he is worried that other countries may be lagging behind.
Time is, of course, running out.