Wed, May 05, 2010
WAM Shows Airplanes In Areas Where Radar Can't See
A new surveillance technology called the Wide-Area
Multilateration System (WAM) is now allowing air traffic
controllers to track aircraft along the difficult approach to
Juneau - a mountainous area where radar coverage isn't possible.
"This technology will allow more aircraft to fly into Juneau and it
will give air traffic controllers the tools they need to safely and
efficiently handle these flights," said FAA Administrator Randy
Babbitt.
Air traffic controllers can now see aircraft approaching Juneau,
something that wasn't possible before WAM because of the rugged
terrain surrounding the city. The mountains make radar coverage
impossible since radar signals cannot pass through solid objects.
Without radar coverage, controllers had to separate aircraft
approaching Juneau by large distances in order to provide the
appropriate safety margins. Air traffic controllers are now able to
safely decrease the separation between them to five nautical
miles.
WAM is comprised of a network of small sensors deployed around
Juneau. The sensors send out signals that are received and sent
back by aircraft transponders. No other aircraft equipment is
required. The system triangulates the returning signals to
determine the precise location of each aircraft. Controllers are
able to see those aircraft on their screens as if they were radar
targets.
WAM is being used in the near term while the agency rolls out
Automatic Dependent Surveillance - Broadcast (ADS-B), the
satellite-based surveillance system that will be deployed
nationwide in 2013. WAM will then serve as a backup to ADS-B in the
event of a GPS outage and provide an additional source of traffic
broadcast to properly equipped aircraft. A WAM system is also
operating in Colorado.
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