Huerta: NextGen Makes ATC Obsolete

ANN April 1 Special Edition (Parody)

FAA Administrator Michael Huerta shocked the aviation world April 1 by announcing the total elimination of the nation’s entire Air Traffic Control System.  “Without anyone realizing it, NexGen allowed us to do away with all Air Traffic Control Facilities.  This will result in an enormous cost savings and a much more efficient flow of air traffic.  This is a much better solution than privatizing ATC as it allows us to significantly reduce the real dollars spent in this area.”  Huerta explained that this move was a very closely held secret until today in order to prevent lobbying by special interest groups.

The FAA has announced that effective January 1st, 2018, all aircraft who wish to enter the NAS system including those from other countries must equip with 978 UAT transceivers.  This will allow all aircraft to see each other on their electronic Multi-function displays.  “After careful study, we realized that that accident rate in a non-towered airport was not significantly different than the accident rate at a towered field.  So, we thought, let’s allow all the pilots to see all the aircraft and they can self-announce on the former ATC frequencies and use the MFD display to provide their own separation.  The cost savings are enormous and will allow the orderly flow of traffic in a first-come first-serve basis.”  ATC will shutdown on 12/31/2017 at 2359 local to each timezone.

AOPA, EAA, NBAA and others lauded this decision by the Administrator.  Mark Baker, President of AOPA commented that “This will dramatically improve access by GA pilots to our most critical NAS infrastructure and put us on even footing with the airline crowd.  No longer will we be relegated to the back of the conga line by ATC.”

At the same time, the FAA announced that they will provide free UAT 978 transceivers and MFDs to all GA aircraft.  This move represents only a small expenditure when compared to the enormous savings that the elimination of ATC will create.  The AEA has been a party to these discussions and announced that its member avionics shops have stockpiled large numbers of 978 UAT transceivers and MFDs and are ready to ensure equal access to the NAS for all aircraft owners.

As this news was announced, stock in Garmin, Avidyne and other major avionics manufacturers made major trading advances.

FMI: www.faa.gov