ADS-B Rule-Making Notice Released

The FAA on Tuesday issued a notice of proposed rulemaking, outlining a proposed initial set of aircraft avionics requirements needed to transition to satellite-based air transportation system. The proposed rule, which is open to public comment for 90 days, would require all aircraft flying in the nation’s busiest airspace to have satellite-based automatic dependent surveillance broadcast (ADS-B)-enabled avionics by 2020. The proposed rule is scheduled to become final by late 2009. Under a billion-dollar contract awarded to ITT last month, ground stations for the new system will be brought online across the country, starting in the East Coast, portions of the Midwest, Alaska and the Gulf of Mexico. Nationwide coverage is expected by 2013. Pilots viewing ADS-B cockpit displays are able to see, in real time, their location in relation to other aircraft, bad weather and terrain.