F-16 crashes in Utah, pilot ejects safely
     HILL AIR FORCE BASE, Utah - March 24, 1998 08:49 a.m. EST -- An
 F-16 pilot ejected safely before his plane crashed onto the runway
 during a landing at Hill Air Force Base.
     The pilot, who was not immediately identified, was treated at
 the base hospital for minor injuries Monday night.
     As the pilot was returning from the Utah Test and Training Range,
 he radioed ahead to air traffic control warning of mechanical prob-
 lems, said Lt. James Wilson, a spokesman for the 388th Fighter Wing.
 Moments later, the pilot ejected.
     The crash about 75 miles west of Salt Lake City started a small
 fire on the plane, but the extent of the damage was unknown. F-16s
 cost up to $20 million each.
     Since the F-16s arrived at Hill nearly two decades ago, 40 have
 crashed, including two in January.
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 Washington - The Supreme Court on Monday ....
     In other business -related matters, the court:
     * Turned away a challenge to the federal requirement that com-
 mercial pilots retire at age 60. A Federal Express pilot had argued
 the rule, in effect since 1959, violates the federal Age Discrimina-
 tion in Employment Act. The rule grew from concern that older pilots
 might be a safety hazard.
 Knoxville News Sentinel 24 March 98
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     Year 2000 - Insurers say millennium bug won't ground planes
     LONDON -- Fears that the world's airlines will grind to a halt
 on January 1, 2000, because of the millennium bug are exaggerated,
 aviation insurers said Tuesday.
     "Responsible carriers are very safety conscious. They are not
 going to put their crews, their passengers or their assets into
 dangerous circumstances," insurer Tony Medniuk told an insurance
 industry news conference.
     The Aviation Insurance Officers' Association has made good
 progress with Lloyd's insurers on preparing for the year 2000, when
 doom-sayers warn of catastrophic consequences if computer systems do
 not recognize the date change.
     Aircraft insurers are developing an exclusion clause for the
 risk and a questionnaire to help them assess an airline's prepared-
 ness for the event, association Chairman Keith Selby said.
     Aviation insurers, like most in the industry, classify the mil-
 lennium bug as a known event for which blanket coverage will not be
 available.
    However, Medniuk, managing director of British Aviation Insurance
 Group, said the aim was to achieve clarity so that insurers could
 "provide sensible coverage on an agreed basis where possible."
     Airlines were taking their own precautions, which could include
 not flying to some destinations on or around January 1, 2000.
     "Carriers are not keen on some destinations, but you'll have to
 ask them about that," Melniuk added.
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             Old Air Force One makes last executive trip
     COLUMBIA, S.C. -- March 24, 1998 7:13 p.m. EST -- What the Air
 Force calls its most historic plane -- it transported the body of
 President Kennedy back to Washington and was the site where Lyndon
 Johnson took the oath of office -- made its last executive trip
 Tuesday.
    After taking Vice President Al Gore to South Carolina, the Boeing
 707 was to go to the Air Force Museum at Wright-Patterson Air Force
 Base near Dayton, Ohio. Officials want to restore the interior to
 its Kennedy-era appearance and put it on display.
    The jet -- part of a pool of planes used by the White House -
 - officially was Air Force Two on Tuesday's trip, but it has carried
 every president since 1962.
    And it has regularly carried Gore.
    "This is the one that Vice President Gore always requests," press
 aide Robin Jennings said. "He has a fondness for this particular
 jet."
    It was the primary presidential aircraft from 1962-73, and has
 been the chief backup since then. The jet is being retired because
 of high maintenance costs.
   Four years ago, the plane took the body of Kennedy's widow, Jackie
 Onassis, from New York to Washington for burial beside her late
 husband.
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     D.C. flights might change -  Groups say legislation may reduce
 service from Knox
     Proposed federal legislation could mean the end of Knoxville's
 direct flights to Washington National Airport, two D.C.-based
 groups warn.
     The Greater Washington Board of Trade and the Washington Air-
 ports Task Force claim a pending bill by Sen. Bill Frist, R-Tenn.,
 with proposed amendments by Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., would re-
 quire more slots for more profitable transcontinental flights at
 National (Reagan?) Airport. They say that would force the airport
 to cut back on the number of less profitable flights from airports
 nearer to National, which would include Knoxville's McGhee Tyson
 Airport, Nashville's airport and airports at 22 other U.S. cities.
     US Airways Express has three daily direct commuter flights from
 McGhee Tyson to National. AirTran Airlines' request for a direct jet
 flight from McGhee Tyson to National was denied in January. National
 is one of four "closed" U.S. airports, meaning landing and takeoff
 slots are controlled by the major airlines.
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