[Scan-DC] Tracking system to better pinpoint planes' locations

[Alan Henney]

USA Today - Tracking system to better pinpoint planes' locations

By Alan Levin, USA TODAY

WASHINGTON — The government is endorsing a new concept for the future
of guiding planes that will eventually replace radar in tracking jets
over the USA.

Federal Aviation Administration boss Marion Blakey said Tuesday that
the new system will improve safety and save billions of dollars for
the government and airlines by streamlining how aircraft operate.

Known as ADS-B (Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast), the
system works by providing vastly improved information about where a
plane is located and where it is heading. It also allows aircraft to
receive far more detailed reports from the ground on weather and the
location of other planes.

Blakey said the technology is "the future of air traffic control." The
FAA's Vincent Capezzuto, who manages the system, said it will
revolutionize flying in the same way that the Internet changed
computing.

Ever since the 1950s, controllers have guided aircraft using radars,
which sweep the skies with radio beams that track metal objects. But
because radar is imprecise, controllers must keep planes miles apart
to ensure they do not collide. Only controllers on the ground have
access to radar, so pilots don't always know the location of other
planes.

Under ADS-B, planes use global positioning satellites to determine
their exact position and then broadcast once a second where they are.
Ground stations costing a small fraction of a radar can receive the
radio blips and tell controllers the locations of planes. The same
information can easily be transmitted to all the aircraft in the sky
so pilots can follow other planes.

The FAA has been testing ADS-B for years, but Tuesday's announcement
was the first time the agency has said it intends to make it the
backbone of the air traffic system. ADS-B has allowed air traffic
controllers in Alaska to follow planes that were hundreds of miles
from the nearest radar. Australia is installing it to track aircraft
over stretches of the country's uninhabited interior.

Blakey said the agency intends to place the system in a few spots
around the country by 2010. That initial phase will cost the FAA and
airlines $600 million but will save them $1.3 billion, she said. The
new system will cover all areas currently served by radar by 2014.

Cargo hauler UPS has equipped 107 of its jets with ADS-B and uses it
to speed flights into and out of its Louisville hub, Director of
Operations Karen Lee said. A recent experiment showed the airline
could save $2 million a year in fuel simply by using the system to
take more efficient routes to land in Louisville.

ADS-B has been endorsed by airlines and pilot groups, but numerous
details need to be worked out. Airlines, for example, have been
cautious about the high price tag they must pay. In addition, the FAA
is still working out an adequate backup system for ADS-B.