U.S. Transportation Secretary LaHood announces new air traffic control system based on satellite technology

WASHINGTON, D.C. (BNO NEWS) — The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) on Thursday announced an air traffic control system that is based on satellite technology as part of the Next Generation Air Transportation System, which is better known as NextGen.

The avionics will allow aircraft to be controlled and monitored with greater precision and accuracy by a satellite-based system called Automatic Dependent Surveillance – Broadcast (ADS-B). U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood released the order which requires all aircraft that use the nation’s busiest airports to have equipment by 2020 that continually broadcasts their location to other aircraft and air traffic controllers.

“Today we have reached a major NextGen milestone,” said LaHood. “This technology represents another step forward in our ability to make America’s skies the safest in the world.”

The final rule, which was developed with extensive input from the aviation community, requires aircraft flying in certain airspace to broadcast their position via ADS-B by 2020. The rule mandates that the broadcast signal meet specific requirements in terms of accuracy, integrity, power and latency.

“This rule gives the green light for manufacturers to begin building the onboard equipment that will allow our air traffic controllers to know where aircraft are with greater precision and reliability,” said FAA Administrator Randy Babbitt. “That is one of the key elements of NextGen that will improve the safety and efficiency of flight.”

Additional ADS-B services should allow pilots to view cockpit displays to see the location of other aircraft in the sky around them. ADS-B displays are envisioned that will show pilots where they are in relation to bad weather and terrain — even at night or in conditions with poor visibility — and provide flight information, including temporary flight restrictions, which allow pilots to plan safe, more efficient routes.

Some of this information is now being broadcast free to aircraft equipped with ADS-B in the Gulf of Mexico, South Florida and in the airspace above Louisville, Philadelphia and Juneau, Alaska. Those areas were chosen as key sites to roll out ADS-B due to challenges presented by vast stretches of water, rugged terrain and traffic congestion. These areas also are populated by aircraft already equipped with ADS-B. The nationwide rollout of ADS-B ground stations will be complete in 2013.

By 2020, the FAA will require ADS-B equipment for aircraft flying in airspace including Classes A, B and C, around busy airports and above 10,000 feet.

Not everyone is happy with the new system, however. Airlines and small plane owners have already voiced their concern, saying they can’t afford the new equipment. They are calling on the government to help pay for it.

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