WHITE HOUSE COMMSSION ON AVIATION SAFETY AND SECURITY
THE DOT STATUS REPORT

2. Making Air Traffic Control Safer and More Efficient

2.1--The FAA should develop a revised NAS modernization plan within six months that will set a goal of the modernized system being fully operational nationwide by the year 2005; and the Congress, the Administration, and users should develop innovative means of financing this acceleration.

• A plan for accelerated modernization has been developed. It is embodied in the draft of Version 3.0 of the National Airspace System architecture recently circulated within the FAA. Implementation of the modernization plan is dependent on receiving adequate funding during the next 8 years. Further discussions on architectural modernization are underway between the FAA and representatives of the aviation industry.

• Planning is also underway for the FAA's Flight 2000, a program to demonstrate and validate a substantial set of capabilities and associated benefits leading to the NAS modernization and continued implementation of free flight. A two-week planning session was completed and coordination with industry is in progress. Current efforts include establishing the metrics and certification issues plus training and integration requirements.

• A draft policy letter has been developed in partnership with industry to promote low cost weather data link systems for general aviation aircraft.

2.2--The FAA should develop plans to ensure that operational and airport capacity needs are integrated into the modernization of the NAS.

• FAA’s Airports organization is participating actively in the review and refinement of the NAS Architecture. Airports briefed the NAS Architecture Core Group in June on airport capacity and safety issues and needs. Outstanding concerns have largely been resolved, and extensive compatibility of NAS and airport system planning is being pursued.

• A newly formed FAA team is addressing airport issues related to satellite based instrument approaches. Environmental impact, runway marking, lighting, and obstruction removal are being considered in anticipation of an increase in the number of runways with instrument approach capability. The team will help FAA’s Airports organization to keep its customers informed about critical NAS issues.

• Commercial space transportation is not explicitly included in the current NAS concept of operations. However, FAA’s Office of Commercial Space Transportation (AST) is working with other lines of business to include commercial space transportation in subsequent versions of NAS architecture. As a first step, FAA will complete, in 1998, a draft Space and Air Traffic Management System (SATMS) design plan. SATMS will be an evolutionary expansion and enhancement of the air traffic management system that will include commercial space transportation as an integral component.

2.3--The FAA should explore innovative means to accelerate the installation of advanced avionics in general aviation aircraft.

• The FAA has developed a plan, which addresses the need to streamline certification for large numbers of general aviation (GA) aircraft. Advisory Circulars 23.1309 (Equipment, Systems and Installations on Part 23 Aircraft) and 23.1311 (Installation of Electronic Display Systems on Part 23 aircraft) are being revised in response to the AGATE program (Advanced General Aviation Transport Experiments). This accompanies a commitment to address software certification issues, which involves government and industry and began in 1997.

• NASA research in this area will help GA aircraft, propulsion and avionics manufacturers to develop aircraft that will require less training, be easier to fly and use information technology to resolve many safety problems of the past. While this project is being developed to revitalize GA, it will also be the technological leap in GA that will provide safety benefits paralleling the advent of the turbojet, digital avionics and simulation in commercial aviation.

• A draft policy letter has been developed in partnership with industry to promote low cost weather data link systems for general aviation aircraft.

• A new RTCA Task Force is reviewing avionics certification processes to determine changes to be more responsive to today’s operational and acquisition needs as we modernize the National Airspace System. Any recommended process should ensure approval and acceptance of an operational capability; be adaptable to changing technologies and operation concepts; ensure the appropriate level of safety and government oversight; ensure that human performance is addressed in an integrated fashion; and take advantage of existing approval and acceptance processes and guidance, where practical.

• The FAA has established a joint industry/FAA team to develop and implement low-cost weather data link systems for general aviation aircraft. In addition, FAA is actively exploring other means of demonstrating the benefits of advanced avionics and lowering the costs of the equipment for general aviation.

2.4--The U.S. government should ensure the accuracy, availability and reliability of the GPS system to accelerate its use in NAS modernization and to encourage its acceptance as an international standard for aviation.

• The FAA is acquiring the Wide Area Augmentation System (WAAS) and the Local Area Augmentation System (LAAS) to accelerate NAS modernization as much as possible. WAAS will reach Initial Operational Capability (IOC) in 1999 and LAAS recently received approval to proceed with system development.

• Aviation requirements for GPS accuracy, availability, reliability and integrity are contained in the system specifications for each system. In addition, the FAA has provided aviation requirements for future modernization of the GPS to the DOT and DOD. As part of this effort, FAA is working with the DOD on assessing various architectures such as a 30 satellite GPS constellation, frequency sharing, and increasing the power output of GPS satellite transmissions.

• One of the issues facing the FAA is the significance of radio frequency interference to GPS receivers. Studies and tests are underway to define the problem further and to develop procedural and technical countermeasures.

• FAA is an active participant in numerous international forums that involve the acceptance and use of the GPS internationally. FAA has agreements with 14 nations that ensure the use of U.S. GPS standards throughout the world. For example, FAA has conducted live WAAS tests with Canada, Mexico and Italy to demonstrate the interoperability of GPS navigation systems. FAA leadership in the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), Global Navigation Satellite System Panel (GNSSP), Radio Technical Communication Association (RTCA) and the Civil Service Interface Committee (CSIC) is maintained at a high level to ensure U.S. interests in a seamless GPS-based world-wide system are selected as the international standard.

2.5--The users of the NAS should fund its development and operation.

• The task of examining the most effective long term financing for FAA was completed in September 1997 by the National Civil Aviation Review Commission (NCARC) which was created by the 1996 FAA Authorization Legislation. NCARC was fully constituted to deliberate FAA financial issues as specified in the Legislation.

• The preliminary NCARC report containing recommendations on FAA requirements and financing was released to the Secretary in August 1997. The final report of the NCARC with specific legislative proposals has been delivered to Congress. DOT fully expect this report to be influential in laying the groundwork for longer term FAA financial stability, i.e., that users of the NAS should fund its development and operation.

2.6--The FAA should identify and justify by July 1997 the frequency spectrum necessary for the transition to a modernized air traffic control system.

FAA developed a limited spectrum plan for the aeronautical radionavigation system intended for incorporation into the 1996 Federal Radionavigation Plan (FRP). In addition, FAA developed a combined plan for radionavigation and communication spectrum requirements and released the study, "Radio Spectrum Requirements for Modernized Air Traffic Control System," in July and again in August 1997. This will be part of the basis for new FAA reauthorization legislation to be submitted to Congress in the next month.

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