Air Traffic Control 2.0 - Is It Ready?

Photo: Courtesy of ITT

For years we have heard about how the FAA has been using old and outdated equipment and software to manage the nation's skies, now according to a article in Wired, the FAA is preparing to implement it's new, modernized Air Traffic control system.

My concern is that pressure from bad press and congressional over-site might rush the FAA to release the system before it is ready. In addition to the articles concerning the state the automated systems, we have recently been exposed to news that retirements by the nation's aircraft controllers has been higher than projected putting even greater pressure on the remaining controllers. Further, airline delays are at or near record highs, and on time percentages are a record lows.

My advise to the FAA, is to resist any and all pressure and take as much time as needed to get the bugs out the system before it's release. I can't think of a computer system where testing prior to release would be more important than this new Air Traffic control system.

We are talking peoples lives here, a single defect in new system could mean hundreds of people's lives being endangered.

I would hope the FAA would not release the new system until every error is detected, investigated and fixed despite the outside pressure to fix the current air control system's problems.

As an example of the pressure that the press is putting on the FAA the article As Skies Grow Crowded, FAA Preps Air Traffic Control 2.0 states:

If you were one of the thousands of Americans stuck at an airport or stranded on a runway this past summer, you're probably not surprised that 2007 is shaping up as the worst year ever for flight delays, with nearly 30 percent of all flights arriving late between January and August. That's just the beginning. With U.S. flights projected to double in the next 20 years, the Federal Aviation Administration says that the current air-traffic-control system will be effectively gridlocked by 2015.

In the face of mounting public and congressional outcry, the FAA claims it has an answer: a planned overhaul called NextGen. For $15 to $22 billion, it will replace the nation's aging, radar-powered air-traffic-control network with one that relies on GPS and advanced avionics.

A much-needed upgrade, the new system may help defuse growing concerns over air traffic safety. The Associated Press reported this week that a secret NASA study found incidents of near collisions, bird strikes and last minute changes to landing plans occur far more frequently than previously known.

When it comes to peoples lives, testing takes on another whole level of importance. I don't care how long I wait, I want to get to my destination in one piece. If it means a day, a week, a month or a year before the new system is released, I expect the final system to be as defect free as possible.

Sphere: Related Content