Chairman Rohrabacher and Members of the Subcommittee:

I appreciate the opportunity to appear before you, to discuss the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) investment in civil aeronautics research, engineering and development (R,E&D), as reflected across our R,E&D program and in the President’s budget request for Fiscal Year 2004. 

This is a particularly important year for aviation innovation as we approach the centennial of flight.  Since the Wright Brothers’ first flight, we have seen remarkable improvements in navigational tools and critical safety technologies through the diligent work of aviation researchers.  Today, that legacy of success continues as FAA’s researchers and scientists lay the groundwork for free flight operations and develop the technologies, tools, and procedures so that FAA may strengthen its critical mission —improving aviation safety.  These improvements are reducing fatalities, injuries, and aircraft losses; creating better aircraft and airport designs; and improving maintenance and inspection procedures.

Today, I will provide a brief overview of the President’s FY 04 aviation R,E&D budget [MSOffice1]  proposal, discuss some of our R,E&D priorities and accomplishments, and provide examples of how our collaborative work with NASA, the Department of Defense (DOD), industry, and academia contributes to making our aviation system safer and more efficient.

The President’s budget request supports the FAA’s major research and development activities presented in the National Aviation Research Plan (NARP), which describes these research activities in detail and how they relate to the agency’s mission.  The NARP covers the research needed to achieve the FAA’s safety, capacity and environmental goals including: aircraft airworthiness, runway safety, aviation weather, human performance and aerospace medicine, as well as efficiency research projects that support increasing the capacity of the National Airspace System (NAS).  

For FY 04, we have requested $100 million for R,E&D.  Based on this request, we have developed a comprehensive program that focuses resources on our highest priority activities.  The President’s budget presents our request in performance-based terms to better focus on the critical areas our R,E&D projects.  Of the total requested:

• $66.487 million is for aircraft technology safety programs, which include research related to fire safety, aging aircraft, human factors, and flight safety;
• $20.852 million is for programs associated with improving safety through weather research;
• $7.975 million is for environmental research, which includes research related to aircraft and rotorcraft noise reduction technologies and aircraft noise and emissions models; and
• $4.686 million provides general mission support.

Although the FY 04 budget request for the R,E&D account has decreased by $24 million from the FY 03 request, the overall budget includes $73.1 million from the Facilities and Equipment (F&E) account for applied research activities under the Advanced Technology Development Prototyping and Safe Flight 21 programs.  These programs focus on the evaluation of methods to prevent runway incursions, reduce separation standards, and provide surveillance coverage in non-radar areas.  Our budget also includes a separate request for $17.417 million under the Airport Improvement Program for airport technology research to develop standards and guidelines for planning, designing, constructing, operating and maintaining the Nation’s airports.      

As our budget shows, safety research is the main priority of our R,E&D program.  Research efforts are critical to the reduction of fatal accident rates.  We know that accidents can be prevented by establishing and maintaining a broad framework of regulations and standards, developing a better understanding of accident causes and countermeasures, and participating in cooperative programs with the global aviation community.

The aircraft safety research programs are producing great dividends for the aviation community.  For example, last year we made significant progress in developing an inerting system to prevent fuel tank explosions.  The tragic TWA Flight 800 disaster, in 1996, focused national attention on the critical need to improve fuel tank safety.  Building on previous research on ground-based inerting, FAA’s researchers developed a relatively simple, but effective, design for generating nitrogen-enriched air in flight.  Our researchers installed an onboard inerting system in the FAA's 747SP test aircraft.  Flight tests are planned in FY 03, based on the combination of modeling predictions, ¼ scale tests, and demonstrations of the prototype system. 

Additionally, we are working with NASA and DOD to enhance safety of the aging aircraft fleet.  Over the past several years we have developed new structural inspection techniques that help maintenance personnel locate structural problems before they become serious safety concerns.  We are  also focusing major efforts on gaining a better understanding of the effects of aging non-structural aircraft systems such as wiring.  Civilian and military aircraft contain hundreds of miles of wire, much of it inaccessible once the aircraft is assembled.  When the protective sheath of insulation on a wire is damaged and the conductor is exposed, the potential for a short circuit or arc exists.  In fact, the FAA, the National Transportation Safety Board, and the Transportation Safety Board of Canada investigations cited electrical systems arcing as one likely cause of the cabin fire and crash of Swissair Flight 111. 

The FAA, in cooperation with DOD and industry, has developed a new form of circuit protection technology that is capable of sensing an electrical arc along a wire and opening the circuit, greatly reducing the threat of an electrical arc fire.  This technology will not require the redesign of aircraft circuitry.  Successful flight tests have been completed and now we are developing common performance specifications.

Although it is easy to be captivated by the new technology that has resulted from our R,E&D, I want to emphasize that aviation safety is also human-centered and dependent on human performance.  The FAA requires that human factors be systematically integrated at each critical step in the design, development, and testing of advanced technologies introduced into the NAS.  For example, last year FAA researchers and certification specialists began testing a new computerized decision support tool to ensure that aircraft flight deck technologies are user friendly.  This decision tool assists certification and design personnel in identifying, assessing, and resolving potential design-induced human performance errors that could contribute to aviation incidents and accidents.   

Weather continues to be a major safety factor for all types of aircraft.  A recent estimate by the FAA identified weather as being responsible for 70 percent of flight delays and approximately 40 percent of accidents.  To mitigate the effects of weather, the FAA’s Aviation Weather Research Program conducts applied research in partnership with a broad spectrum of the weather research and user communities with a goal of transitioning advanced weather detection technologies into operational use. 

In FY 02, a weather safety product, known as the Current Icing Potential, became fully operational at the National Weather Service  Aviation Weather Center in Kansas City, Missouri. This product, which generates around-the-clock support, provides information on current in-flight icing conditions and is used for flight planning, determining route changes, and altitude selection.  With FAA funding, the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colorado,developed this system using radar and satellite data, surface observations, numerical models and pilot reports.  Users can access this information on the Internet via the Aviation Digital Data Service web site at http://adds.aviationweather.gov/projects/adds/.

I am pleased to report that FAA’s weather research program was awarded the 2002 National Weather Association’s Aviation Meteorology Award in recognition of developing and implementing the Current Icing Potential, as well as the National Convective Weather Forecast, the Forecast Icing Potential products, and the Rapid Update Cycle #20-- all new products designed to enhance aviation safety and efficiency by allowing pilots to avoid hazardous flight conditions while improving airspace use.

The FAA understands that while we are responsible for operating a safe and efficient NAS, we must also monitor and mitigate the effects of aviation on our environment.  FAA will use research funding to continue to develop and validate new and enhanced methodologies to estimate aviation-related emissions that impact local air quality and global emissions.  This will allow FAA to more accurately assess aviation-related emissions impacts and tailor measures to mitigate any impact on communities resulting from airline operations and airport development programs and increased efficiency in showing compliance with provisions under the Clean Air Act and National Environmental Policy Act.

Currently, to understand the environmental effects of aircraft and airport operations, the FAA's environment and energy research program is developing superior decision support tools and providing strategies that both protect the environment while allowing  aviation to grow.  For example, the Environmental Protection Agency has accepted, as a "Preferred Guideline," the FAA model that assesses the air quality impacts of airport emission sources.  This model incorporates enhancements resulting from a landmark aircraft plume study conducted last year.  This work was accomplished in coordination with the Department of Transportation's Volpe National Transportation System Center, the University of Central Florida, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Further, the noise model developed by the FAA, the Integrated Noise Model (INM), today has over 700 users in 42 countries and has become the de facto world standard in noise modeling. 

The FAA’s collaboration with NASA spans across our R,E&D goals.  We are working with our colleagues at NASA to make overall improvements to the NAS.   In accordance with industry recommendations, the FAA’s Free Flight Program has deployed a number of surface and airspace management tools, developed jointly with NASA, such as the Traffic Management Advisor and Surface Movement Advisor, which help air traffic controllers and system users make the system more efficient in the air and on the ground.

We believe in our complimentary working relationship with NASA and we are proud of the accomplishments we have achieved together.  Looking at the big picture of aviation research, NASA focuses its efforts on developing technology with the potential for long and short-term NAS improvement while FAA prepares the technology for introduction into the NAS.  Indeed, we are collaborating with NASA, DOD, and the Transportation Security Administration to assure a strong and vibrant NAS for future generations.  As Administrator Blakey has said, we are developing “a shared national vision for the aviation system of the future and to coordinate our research activities with that in mind.” 

As I have described throughout my statement, our commitment to and success in improving aviation safety and efficiency has involved extensive collaboration with our partners the aviation community.  One of our most valuable partnerships is that with the Research, Engineering and Development Committee (REDAC).  This group, composed of representatives from government, industry, and academia, contributes to FAA’s R,E&D by providing guidance on our ongoing work, reviewing our proposed R&D investments, and evaluating our programs during execution.  The REDAC provides this support through five standing committees -  Air Traffic Services, Aircraft Safety, Airports, Environment and Energy, and Human Factors - comprised of REDAC members and additional topical experts from industry and academia. 

With the support of our partners, the FAA can provide world leadership in the conduct of high-priority research and the development of innovative technologies.

In conclusion, on behalf of Administrator Blakey, I would like to express the FAA’s appreciation for the support we have received from this Subcommittee and we look forward to working with you in addressing the many critical needs in aviation through the FAA’s R,E&D program.  This concludes my prepared remarks.  I would be pleased to answer any questions that you may have at this time.