Says More Work Needs To Be Done On System

FAA Administrator Marion Blakey is on the lecture circuit... and in addition to making her case for why the agency broke off negotiations with air traffic controllers, she is also stumping for Automatic Dependent Surveillance - Broadcast (ADS-B)... even though it appears the technology is in serious trouble in Alaska.

Blakey told an audience Friday at the Cleveland (OH) City Club that ADS-B is still in the developmental stages... but that it remains under serious consideration as a way to make the skies safer to travel in... and cheaper for the FAA to monitor.

As Aero-News has reported extensively, however, ADS-B has been pulled off the glass at the air traffic control center in Anchorage, where the technology was undergoing its most thorough test to date.

The reason? Although the FAA won't say... controllers have told ANN no standards have been officially adopted for separating ADS-B and non-ADS-B traffic in places like Bethel, where the satellite-based system has become vital.

Controllers also say they won't support the expansion of Alaska's Capstone Project until the FAA addresses those issues.

The Cleveland Plains-Dealer reports Blakey told the City Club the agency needs to bring costs under control before it can start to develop ADS-B -- tying the issue into the ongoing impasse between her agency and air traffic controllers.

FMI: www.faa.gov