Thank you, everyone, for being here today. It’s great to be back at the NASAO Annual Convention.
At the FAA, our mission is to provide the safest, most efficient airspace system in the world. That goal has never changed, but the way we’ve gone about accomplishing it certainly has changed.
It’s not news to anyone in this room that the aviation industry is constantly evolving. We’re operating in an uncertain funding environment that can at times make it difficult to invest in the infrastructure projects we need. New technologies are allowing us to manage air traffic more efficiently than ever – while also introducing new challenges for the airspace we manage.
Today, I’m going to tell you about how the FAA is tackling some of these challenges and opportunities as we support America’s 21st century aviation system. Then, I look forward to answering your questions and hearing about your experiences at the state and local level.
First, I have to address one of the foremost topics on everyone’s mind: reauthorization. As you all know, the FAA’s current authorization is set to expire on September 30th.
We’re committed to working closely with Congress to pass a long-term bill that embraces a few key principles.
Reauthorization must help us maintain our exceptional safety record by providing more opportunities to use risk-based decision-making. It should strengthen America's global leadership on aviation, while helping us integrate new users and realign our airspace system with current demands.
Reauthorization must provide further support for the modernization of our air traffic control system with stable funding for our core operations and NextGen investments. And we need to secure appropriate funding for our nation's airports.
I know each of you has a wish list of great projects you’d like to tackle at your airports, and we want to make it easier for you to get them done.
In Atlanta, for example, AIP funds are improving runway safety at DeKalb [Deh-CAB]-Peachtree Airport by constructing an Engineered Material Arresting System that can stop an aircraft if it overruns the runway. I know this is a project Carol is familiar with, and it’s a fantastic example of the type of investments we need to make more of.
We also need more flexibility in how we can draw from various funding sources. This would ensure both large and small airports have the resources they need to maintain their vital infrastructure.
Now, as Congress has gotten to work on our reauthorization bill, there’s been a lot of talk about hot topics like privatization and user fees.
We’re open to having these conversations about the structure of the FAA and our air traffic operations, as well as the best way to fund them. However, we must ensure that any potential changes provide long-term stable funding for our air traffic operation and help us maintain the safest airspace system in the world.
It’s also important to be aware of unintended consequences. For example, our ability to roll out NextGen relies on interdependencies and relationships within the agency. NextGen is more than installing technology on aircraft – it involves the close participation of our safety organization to ensure the technology is safe, and that controllers and pilots know how to use it safely.
We believe that any decision about governance must take these big-picture issues into account. As Secretary Foxx recently said, “the test will be whether we can get better outcomes under a different model than we have today – but we’re not starting from a point of disadvantage on that question.”
We’re also likely to see a debate about whether a long-term bill is possible, or if a short-term extension makes more sense. Our position on this is clear.
Our first priority must be to avoid furloughs and interruptions in funding – because that’s no way to run the best and most complex aviation system in the world.
However, we also don’t want a return to the days before our 2012 authorization, when we had 23 short-term extensions. We need a long-term bill that lets us plan for the future and provides stable, reliable funding for the critical projects we’re supporting.
Now is the time we should be building on our momentum – not slowing it down.
Speaking of momentum, the FAA is focused on putting the Next Generation Air Transportation System in place, and we’ve made substantial progress that is delivering measurable benefits to consumers and aviation stakeholders across the country.
This spring, we delivered on a critical foundational element of NextGen by completing the installation of En Route Automation Modernization, or ERAM, in all of the 20 planned en route control centers. ERAM is a faster computer platform that replaces our legacy system, which had its roots in the 1960s. It gives us a much bigger, richer picture of our nation’s air traffic – and allows controllers to better manage flights from gate to gate.
ERAM is also extremely reliable. It has been available more than 99.99 percent of the time since we completed the nationwide rollout. On the very rare occasion that equipment is unexpectedly out of service, we're able to quickly respond to a situation using backup systems and procedures.
The benefits of ERAM can’t be understated – particularly since it enables many other critical NextGen systems. ERAM links seamlessly with Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast, or ADS-B, technologies to provide more accurate, satellite-based aircraft positions. Last year, we finished the coast-to-coast installation of the ADS-B network, and ADS-B is now integrated at all of our en route centers.
ADS-B helps controllers determine aircraft locations with far greater accuracy. For pilots operating in remote areas where radar coverage is limited, this technology will make flying safer by taking the “search” out of search-and-rescue – a potentially life-saving benefit. ADS-B also brings free weather and traffic updates to the cockpit.
The full benefits of ADS-B require 100 percent equipage for aircraft flying in the designated airspace, and the FAA is committed to working with our stakeholders to ensure all aircraft are equipped by the January 1, 2020 deadline.
Fortunately, one of the most common barriers to equipage – cost – is becoming less of an issue.
A number of manufacturers are bringing to market equipment that complies with the ADS-B Out mandate, and this competition is driving prices down. Some units are now priced as low as $1,500. We hope this means we’ll see equipage rates continue to rise.
Data Communications is another technology the FAA is using to modernize the NAS and make every phase of flight more efficient. Data Comm gives air traffic controllers and pilots the ability to transmit flight plans and other essential messages with the touch of a button instead of multiple verbal communications.
This switch from voice to text doesn’t just speed things up. It also increases safety by reducing the chance of a read-back error while relaying information.
Data Comm is currently being used in Newark, Memphis, Salt Lake City, and Houston. In 2016, we’re aiming to have Data Comm in more than 50 of our air traffic control towers.
Data Comm is just one example of the FAA’s larger shift toward eliminating risk in our aviation system.
America is rightly considered the gold standard in aviation because we continually push ourselves to do more and be better.
So as aviation has become safer and less accident data is available to guide our efforts, we’ve been focusing on identifying areas of risk and mitigating them before an incident occurs.
The work we’re doing on runway safety is a great example. In June, I hosted a Call to Action on this important issue that brought together a wide range of aviation partners to discuss ways to cut down on runway incursions.
In the last decade, we’ve seen a dramatic reduction in the number of serious runway incursions, but we still haven’t entirely eliminated the problem. Even one incursion shows us that something in our system isn’t working – and that needs to be addressed.
We heard a lot of great ideas at our Runway Safety Call to Action, and we’ve identified some areas where we can make improvements to procedures, visual cues, and communications protocols. We’ll soon be distributing information throughout the FAA and to our external stakeholders so that we can develop action items that will address these issues.
We’re also partnering directly with airports through our Runway Incursion Mitigation Program to develop custom solutions for runway and taxiway intersections where the risk for an incursion is high.
As part of this shift toward risk-based decision-making, we’re also shifting our thinking on enforcement.
In our current system, safety inspectors approach every airline with the same checklist – no matter what kind of safety record it has. Moving forward, we’ll be looking even more at data to target our inspection and surveillance on the areas of highest risk.
This doesn't mean we're letting enforcement take a back seat. We're not going to ignore safety issues, or let anyone believe they have a free pass.
Enforcement will remain an important tool for us when we find unwillingness to comply with corrections, inappropriate risk-taking, or intentional non-compliance. But we’re going to be starting from the presumption that everyone believes safety is good business and we can all unite around this common cause. Our fundamental goal is to find and fix problems before they can cause an incident.
Finally, I’d like to update you today on the actions the FAA is taking in one of the fastest changing areas of the aviation industry: unmanned aircraft.
Integrating unmanned aircraft into our airspace is a big job, and it’s one the FAA is determined to get right. In fact, we recently filled two executive-level positions that are going to build on our momentum and help us accomplish this goal.
Earlier this year, we took an important step forward by releasing a proposed rule that laid out a flexible framework for allowing the routine use of small unmanned aircraft. It included a number of common sense provisions, like not flying in restricted airspace, not flying at night, and not flying more than 500 feet off the ground. It also recommended requiring the operator to be able to see the unmanned vehicle at all times.
The FAA received more than 4,500 public comments on the proposal, and we’re working to address them before finalizing the rule. This, however, is a lengthy process – so we’re actively looking for other ways to expand the use of unmanned aircraft in the meantime.
We continue to receive valuable information from our six national test sites, and we recently selected the Mississippi State University team as the FAA’s Center of Excellence for Unmanned Aircraft Systems.
We’re also accommodating requests for some commercial operations under our Section 333 exemption process.
To date, the FAA has granted more than 1,500 exemptions that allow unmanned aircraft to be used for a variety of purposes, including aerial filming, precision agriculture, and power line and flame stack inspection.
Additionally, we announced an initiative earlier this year called the Pathfinder Program. This is a public-private partnership that will help us determine how we might be able to safely expand unmanned aircraft operations beyond the parameters of our proposed rule.
Three leading U.S. companies have already signed up to be part of this program, and they have plans to explore three key types of unmanned operations.
- CNN will research how visual line-of-sight operations might be used for newsgathering in urban areas.
- PrecisionHawk, a manufacturer, is interested in surveying crops in rural areas using unmanned aircraft that are flying outside of the pilot’s direct vision.
- BNSF Railroad plans to explore the challenges of using unmanned aircraft to inspect their rail infrastructure beyond visual line-of-sight in isolated areas.
These companies are bringing their own resources to the table, and we’re open to working with more partners who are willing to invest in this type of research. We anticipate receiving valuable data from each of these trials that could result in FAA-approved operations in the next few years.
Finally, as unmanned aircraft have become more popular, the FAA is stepping up to educate the public on how to safely and responsibly operate these devices.
Earlier this summer, we unveiled a new smartphone app called “B4UFLY.” It’s designed to be a simple, easy-to-use app that will answer a very basic safety question: is it safe and legal to fly an unmanned aircraft at a particular location? Nearly 1,000 public users are beta-testing the app now, and we hope to have an operational version ready by the end of the year.
We’ve also partnered with industry stakeholders on the “Know Before You Fly” campaign, which provides unmanned aircraft users with the ongoing, up-to-date information and guidance they need to fly safely. As part of this effort, we recently joined the National Interagency Fire Center here in Boise to remind users not to fly unmanned aircraft near wildfires, since this activity can endanger pilots and possibly delay firefighting missions.
Most recently, we partnered with the San Francisco 49ers football team to create a Public Service Announcement that is airing on the team’s scoreboard. We’re actively working to create more opportunities like this.
Additionally, we have an ongoing, nationwide “No Drone Zone” campaign. This month, we have been focusing our efforts in the cities hosting the Papal visit – Philadelphia, New York, and Washington, D.C. We’re informing the public that they should leave their drones at home while the Pope is in town, and we’re grateful to our local law enforcement partners for their support in this effort.
All of these efforts are part of our commitment to the safety of our airspace as the unmanned aircraft industry continues to grow and evolve.
Before I wrap up and we get to your questions, I want to once again thank Carol, Greg, and everyone at NASAO for the opportunity to be here today.
I’m proud of the long history of cooperation that exists between the FAA and NASAO. Many of our efforts at the national level simply wouldn’t be possible without the help and partnership from all of you at the local level.
In a few minutes, I’ll be signing a Memorandum of Understanding that affirms NASAO’s support for the runway safety initiatives I mentioned earlier.
As we look to the future of our ever-changing industry, this type of collaboration will be more important than ever.
That’s the value of meetings like this one. They give us an opportunity to speak, to listen, and to find new and better ways to reaffirm America’s role as a global aviation leader.
Thank you. I’m happy to take a few questions.