Originally Posted by
WhyIsThereAir
I believe also the messages we have seen only have a timestamp that is good to one second resolution.
Actually, I believe the messages in the now widely distrubted ACARS list are only timed to a one
minute resolution. WN0905312245 for example being 2245 on 31 May 2009. No mention of seconds.
So the presentation is at an order of magnitude or two less resolution than the actual message handling.
This would tend to suggest that
(a) we can assume that all the "0210" messages relate to faults before those with an "0211" identifier, etc., because the only way for them to be mixed up is for a fault at 02:10:58 being identified and reported 3 secs later (and thus getting an "0211" identifier) while a later fault at 02:10:59 gets recognized and reported within a second, thus getting an "0210" identifier. Since I think it's likely that the recognition times are under a second in most - but not all cases - and given the unlikelihood of the events being at the critical "minute rollover" it seems a reasonable assumption.
We certainly CAN assume that messages with more than a one minute difference are in the noted order - so all the "0210" must be before the "0212" and so on.
and
(b) we cannot rely on the presentation order for messages in a single identifier group ("0210" etc) because near simultaneous faults may have been swapped by a different recognition delay.
Actually, looking at the version I have here, there does in fact seem to be one message out of order. I suspect its a transcription error from the TV screenshots.