Statewide Rollout of New Technology Expected by 2009

The state of Pennsylvania has announced steps to make air travel safer and more efficient by adopting a recommendation from the Governor's Aviation Advisory Committee to begin using new technology at its airports. PennDOT Secretary Allen D. Biehler, P.E., said the commonwealth will begin using advanced technologies for general aviation pilots, called Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) systems, by the end of this year.

Working with the Federal Aviation Administration, PennDOT is using the systems at Allentown's Queen City Airport, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton International Airport, Lancaster Airport and University Park Airport in State College.

Biehler said the ground stations at the four airports will provide coverage for most of the eastern portion of the state. Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast coverage across the entire state is planned within four years.

The FAA developed the system, which was tested in Alaska and first implemented along the East Coast between Florida and New Jersey. "Bringing such an advanced technology to Pennsylvania will better protect the people who fly airplanes and those who ride in them. It will also give air traffic controllers a good tool to guide planes in and out of airports," Biehler said.

"This new system represents the 21st Century way that pilots will see and react to each other and their environment while flying."

Pennsylvania has nearly 137 airports serving 18,000 pilots. A recent study completed by PennDOT's Bureau of Aviation shows that, on an annual basis, aviation-related activities contribute more than $12.6 billion to the state's economy.

Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast system includes several, state-of-the-art technologies, including Global Positioning Satellite (GPS) navigation system data links, weather radar and multifunction cockpit displays. It expands far beyond the radar systems now in use and represents the future direction the FAA has chosen for monitoring aircraft.

Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast information available to pilots includes:

• Traffic information, both in the air and on the ground, at airports. This will include location, aircraft identification, altitude, airspeed and direction.
• Updated weather, including forecasts and radar imaging of storms. Lack of real-time weather information is cited as a contributing factor in a significant portion of aviation accidents.
• Terrain and other obstacles, including buildings, mountains and other hazards to aircraft.
• Airspace status, such as temporary flight restrictions and special use airspace.

"With the installation of an Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast transceiver in an airplane, pilots are now saying, their 'cockpit of tomorrow is here today,'" Biehler said.

The Bureau of Aviation will be working with the FAA, commercial airlines, general aviation operators, emergency health care providers, the State Police, the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency and the Office of Homeland Security to fully develop the potential of the Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast system.

Biehler said the state and the FAA will split the costs to construct the four Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast stations. Money to underwrite the new technology is coming from the FAA ($300,000), a grant from U.S. Department of Homeland Security through PEMA ($250,000), and the state's Aviation Fund ($50,000).

FMI: www.dot.state.pa.us