Before the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation concerning Unmanned Aircraft Systems: Innovation, Integration, Successes, and Challenges

Chairman Thune, Senator Nelson, Members of the Committee:

Thank you for the opportunity to appear before you today. My name is Earl Lawrence, Director of the Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA) Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) Integration Office. In this role, I am responsible for the facilitation of all regulations, policies, and procedures required to support the FAA's UAS integration efforts. I also represent the FAA on the Senior Steering Group of the UAS Executive Committee focusing on coordination and alignment of efforts among key federal government agencies, and I oversee the Subcommittee of the Drone Advisory Committee.

The Department of Transportation's (USDOT) and FAA's vision for fully integrating UAS into the National Airspace System (NAS) entails UAS operating harmoniously, side-by-side with manned aircraft in a safe and secure manner. This vision goes beyond the accommodation practices in use today, which largely rely on operational segregation to maintain systemic safety. As we work to realize this vision, the FAA intends to work incrementally to introduce UAS into the NAS after careful consideration of the safety of people and property both in the air and on the ground.

Two years ago, the FAA appeared before this committee to discuss the status of the safe, incremental integration of UAS—more commonly referred to as drones—into the NAS, and also into the FAA. In that time, we have made significant progress toward our goal of fully integrating this new class of aircraft and their operators. This progress is the result of significant coordination efforts across the FAA. While my office serves as the focal point for external stakeholders, almost every policy and support office within the Agency has dedicated staff and resources to supporting these integration activities. Today, the United States is clearly a global leader in UAS integration, and I would like to highlight for you some examples of our accomplishments, our challenges, and our ongoing work to build upon our successes as we move forward with the next phase of UAS integration.

Small UAS Registration
Aircraft registration is a foundational statutory requirement that applies to all civil aircraft and promotes a culture of accountability. At the time of our last discussion, we were experiencing a huge influx of new, casual UAS users—people who fly UAS for personal entertainment or recreation. Many of these operators do not have the basic aviation knowledge, training, or experience required for pilots of traditional manned aircraft. Growing concern about reports of UAS flying near airports and manned aircraft highlighted the need to educate these users about how to operate UAS safely as soon as possible, preferably before they began operating small UAS in the NAS.

We knew at the outset that we would need to work with industry stakeholders in order to develop a registration process for small UAS. The Secretary of Transportation and the FAA Administrator announced the creation of a UAS Registration Task Force on October 19, 2015. This Task Force was comprised of industry representatives with a range of stakeholder viewpoints, interests, and knowledge. The group met for three days in November 2015 to develop recommendations for a small UAS registration process.

After evaluating the Task Force's recommendations and public comments, the FAA published an Interim Final Rule on Registration and Marking Requirements for Small Unmanned Aircraft on December 14, 2015. This rule established a new web-based process for small UAS registration, relieving operators of the need to use the legacy paper-based process, and took effect on December 21, 2015. The requirements stipulate that owners must register their UAS online if the combined weight of the vehicle and anything it carries is more than 0.55 lbs. and less than 55 lbs., and is flown outdoors for either recreational or non-recreational purposes, consistent with the statutory requirement for aircraft registration. Within the first two weeks of online registration opening, over 160,000 UAS owners had registered their UAS.

The registration process serves two critical functions that will help foster a culture of safety, security, and accountability in the emerging UAS community. First, it provides a means to associate an unmanned aircraft with its owner. This helps law enforcement and regulators identify an operator more quickly in the event of an incident and ensures operators are aware that they are responsible for the safe operation of their vehicle. Secondly, and equally important, the registration process provides an opportunity to educate users about how to safely operate UAS in the NAS, including instructions to not fly near manned aircraft and always fly within visual line-of-sight, as well as an acknowledgement that flying in the nation's airspace comes with certain responsibilities and expectations. To date, over 750,000 small UAS owners have registered, including more than 40,000 in the last two weeks of December 2016. The FAA has used the registration database on three occasions to provide registrants with important, time-sensitive safety information about flying their UAS–during Hurricane Matthew, wildfire season, and the Iditarod Great Sled Race.

Small UAS Rule (Part 107)
Building on the successful launch of the online registration system, the FAA adopted a similar approach of engagement and collaboration with industry stakeholders in the development of the first set of operating rules for small UAS, which forms the bedrock of the regulatory framework for full UAS integration. Because UAS technology is evolving at a rapid pace, a flexible regulatory framework is imperative. Our goal is to provide the basic rules for operators, not identify specific technological safety solutions that could quickly become outdated. We've achieved this goal with the final small UAS rule (14 CFR part 107), which was issued on June 21, 2016 and went into effect on August 29, 2016.

Part 107 introduces a brand new pilot certificate that is specific for UAS operations—the Remote Pilot Certificate. Unlike a part 61 airman certificate (certification for manned aircraft), which necessarily has more stringent requirements, an individual can obtain a Remote Pilot Certificate by passing an aeronautical knowledge test at an FAA-approved testing center. Alternatively, if the individual holds a current non-student part 61 airman certificate, the individual may complete an online UAS training course in lieu of the knowledge test. Approximately 24,000 applicants have taken the Remote Pilot Knowledge Exam, and over 91% have passed.

The small UAS rule has also greatly reduced the number of, and the need for, Section 333 exemptions, which the FAA used to grant case-by-case approval for certain unmanned aircraft to conduct commercial operations. Before part 107, the primary way to operate a drone for non-hobby purposes was to obtain a Section 333 exemption and an accompanying Certificate of Waiver or Authorization (COA). The FAA issued 5,551 exemptions under Section 333.

The provisions of part 107 are designed to minimize risks to other aircraft and people and property on the ground, as well as provide the UAS industry and operator community with the flexibility to innovate. Among other operational limits such as speed and altitude, the regulations require pilots to keep an unmanned aircraft within visual line-of-sight, fly during daylight hours, and prohibit flights over unprotected people on the ground who are not directly involved in the UAS operation.

In keeping with our goal of a flexible framework, part 107 also allows operators to apply online for waivers and airspace authorizations to fly outside the rule's requirements, provided that they demonstrate their proposed operation may be conducted safely. This process has been used successfully to issue over 400 waivers and 2,200 airspace authorizations for UAS operations in controlled airspace, including the drone show featured during halftime at this year's Super Bowl. Part 107 allows for operations in Class G airspace without prior air traffic control authorization; operations in Class B, C, D, and E airspace (i.e. controlled airspace) may be permitted with authorization from the FAA Air Traffic Organization (ATO).

The small UAS rule provides UAS operators with unprecedented access to the NAS while also ensuring the safety of the skies, and was largely well received by the UAS industry. However, it is only the first step in the FAA's plan to integrate UAS into the NAS. Consistent with our incremental integration strategy, we intend to use a risk-based approach to facilitate expanded UAS operations, including operations over people, operations beyond visual line-of-sight, and transportation of persons and property.

Next Steps and Challenges Ahead
The FAA's commitment to further expanding permissible UAS operations and enabling this emerging technology to safely achieve its full potential requires resolving several key challenges. Congress recognized a number of these challenges in the FAA Extension, Safety, and Security Act of 2016. Before operations beyond visual line-of-sight can become routine, FAA must address risks posed by drones to other manned aircraft, as well as risks posed by
drones during a loss-of-operator-control event. Additionally, preemption, privacy, enforcement, and security–both physical and cyber–remain key issues as UAS integration progresses.

Technical Challenges
One way the FAA is working to address the technical challenges presented by increasingly complex UAS operations is to support its UAS test sites in conducting critical research. One of the primary goals of the test site program is to help the FAA determine technical and operational trends that could support safety-related decision making for UAS-NAS integration. In 2016, the test sites continued to conduct research to validate key operational requirements for UAS integration, including research and testing into technology that enables UAS to detect and avoid other aircraft and obstacles, investigation of lost link causes and resolutions, and evaluation of the adequacy of ATC and communications procedures with UAS. Test site activities have also explored industry applications of UAS, such as emergency response, utility company infrastructure inspection, wildlife census, and precision agriculture.

To complement the work being done at and by the UAS test sites, in May 2015 the FAA selected a UAS Center of Excellence (COE), led by Mississippi State University and the Alliance for System Safety of UAS through Research Excellence (ASSURE). The goal of the UAS COE is to create a cost-sharing relationship between academia, industry, and government that will focus on research areas of primary interest to the FAA and the UAS community. The FAA has received initial research results for several research topics, including airborne and ground-based collision testing, which are currently being peer reviewed by both internal and external research teams. This work fits into the FAA's overall UAS research and development portfolio, which is primarily focused on applied research to support the development of rules, policies, and procedures.

To keep pace with the rapid increase in the number of UAS operations, and to pave the way for the full implementation of beyond visual line-of-sight operations, FAA is working with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and industry to develop and eventually deploy a UAS Traffic Management (UTM) System. NASA's research concept specifically considers small UAS operations below 400 feet, in airspace that contains low-density manned aircraft operations. NASA has developed a phased approach for their UTM concept, building from rural to urban and from low to high-density airspace. In April 2016, NASA coordinated with the six FAA-selected test sites to perform phase one testing of the UTM research platform. A Research Transition Team (RTT) has been established between the FAA and NASA to coordinate the UTM initiative, as the concept introduces policy, regulatory, and infrastructure implications that must be fully understood and addressed before moving forward with technology deployment. Additionally, the UTM work with NASA will inform our efforts with respect to UAS operating in proximity to airports. A second RTT has also been established with NASA, which is focused on UAS operating in higher altitude and controlled airspace, as opposed to the UTM initiative, which focuses on operations in low altitude managed airspace.

Security and Enforcement
As Congress recognized in the 2016 FAA Extension, the security challenges presented by UAS technology require a whole-of-government response. The FAA is working with several departments and agencies–including the Department of Justice, Department of Homeland Security, Department of Defense, and others–to identify and evaluate technologies that detect and track unmanned aircraft movement through the NAS. However, technologies to detect and track unmanned aircraft movement through the NAS are only one part of the equation to address the security challenges presented by evolving UAS technologies. To adequately secure and protect the airspace we must continue to educate the public on the safe operation of UAS and work with our law enforcement partners at every level of government in responding to incidents involving threats from UAS.

We also continue to work closely with our industry partners to evaluate these promising drone-detection technologies. As directed in Section 2206 of the 2016 FAA Extension, the FAA has established a pilot program to evaluate some of these technologies, which have been tested in airport environments at New York's JFK Airport, Atlantic City International Airport, and Denver International Airport. Further testing will take place at Dallas-Fort Worth later this year. In addition, the FAA is working with interagency partners to develop policies and procedures for restricting UAS operations over fixed site facilities, as directed by Section 2209 of the 2016 FAA Extension.

The potential for conflicts between manned and unmanned aircraft has become a very real challenge in integrating these new technologies into the NAS. We are seeing an increased number of drone-sighting reports from pilots of manned aircraft, with approximately 1,800 reports of sightings in 2016, compared to 1,200 reports the year before. As the Federal agency responsible for the safety of the flying community, the FAA remains concerned about the increasing number of these reports. To begin addressing this issue, we are actively engaging in public education and outreach efforts, such as "Know Before You Fly" and the small UAS registration process.

Sometimes, however, education is not enough. If an unauthorized UAS operation is intentional, creates an unacceptable risk to safety, or is intended to cause harm, strong and swift enforcement action will be taken. Recently, we announced a comprehensive settlement agreement with a UAS operator that violated airspace regulations and aircraft operating rules by flying drones in congested airspace over New York City and Chicago. However, one of the enforcement challenges we often face is identifying the operator of a UAS flying where it shouldn't. This Committee has recognized that challenge with Section 2202 of the 2016 FAA Extension, which directs the FAA to convene industry stakeholders to develop consensus standards for remotely identifying UAS operators. We plan to begin convening stakeholders this spring.

Continued engagement with the law enforcement community is paramount to ensuring public safety. In January 2015, the FAA published guidance for the law enforcement community on its UAS Web site, and has been actively engaging with law enforcement agencies at local, State, and Federal levels to reduce confusion about how to respond to UAS events. The FAA encourages citizens to call local law enforcement if they feel someone is endangering people or property on the ground or in the sky. Local law enforcement should then work with local FAA field offices to ensure these safety issues are addressed.

Continued Engagement with Industry
As the FAA moves forward with UAS integration, we will continue to involve all stakeholders in framing challenges, prioritizing activities, and developing consensus solutions. By leveraging this expertise, we ensure that the FAA maintains its position as the global leader in aviation safety. Last summer, we formed the Drone Advisory Committee (DAC). Its members include representatives from industry, government, labor, and academia. The DAC will allow us to look at drone use from every angle, while considering the different viewpoints and needs of the diverse UAS community.

The first DAC meeting was held in September 2016 and its members have already started to work on assisting us in two key areas: identifying the roles and responsibilities of drone operators, manufacturers, and Federal, state, and local officials related to drone use in populated areas; and determining what the highest-priority UAS operations are and how we can enable access to the airspace needed to conduct these operations. The FAA recently created a new tasking concerning a third key area: how to fund the full complement of services required to safely integrate UAS operations into the NAS in the long-term. We look forward to receiving and reviewing the DAC's recommendations.

In October 2016, we also began working with industry to form an Unmanned Aircraft Safety Team (UAST), modeled after the very successful Commercial Aviation Safety Team (CAST). This group's mission is to collect and use UAS operational data to identify safety risks, and then develop and voluntarily implement mitigation strategies to address those risks. The group is currently working on several projects, including helping the FAA develop a survey to the UAS operator community.

Apart from our work with the DAC and the UAST, the FAA held its first UAS symposium in Daytona Beach, Florida in April last year. The symposium provided a forum for UAS stakeholders to provide feedback directly to FAA decision-makers on topics related to UAS integration. Nearly 500 attendees heard keynote remarks from the FAA Administrator and Deputy Administrator, and participated in discussions on topics ranging from aircraft and pilot certification to legal and policy issues related to UAS operations and integration.

Our second UAS symposium will be held in the Washington D.C. area on March 27-29, 2017. Conversations will touch on the more significant challenges that integration presents, including the intersection of privacy and preemption, the importance of harmonizing international regulations, and the array of new safety and security risks associated with increased UAS operations. The symposium will also have a Resource Center to provide attendees with one-on-one technical support on authorizations, waivers, Part 107 requirements, and other policies and regulations.

Building on Our Success
Moving forward, we intend to build on the progress that we have made this past year with two notable initiatives currently underway. We are developing a Low Altitude Authorization and Notification Capability (LAANC) to automate the process for UAS operators to notify Air Traffic Control of flights within five miles of an airport center or to get authorization to fly in certain classes of airspace. This initiative will be the first step toward implementing UTM. As part of LAANC, the FAA will publish UAS facility maps that indicate likely safe altitudes for UAS flight and distances around airports. Industry applications will facilitate interaction with the maps and may provide automatic notification to the FAA and operational authorization to UAS operators through data exchange. Data received by the FAA may be used by Air Traffic Control to contact the operator in the event of an emergency. On February 1, 2017, the FAA held the first in a series of industry workshops to discuss this initiative in greater detail, and recently released a sample of 10 facility maps to the industry partners involved in LAANC.

The second initiative is to develop an integrated gateway—a common web portal and associated API—that will serve as a one-stop-shop for all UAS interactions with the FAA. It will allow UAS owners and operators to register their aircraft, apply for an airspace authorization or waiver, file an accident report, and keep abreast of the latest FAA news and announcements concerning UAS. This gateway will be designed for desktops, laptops, tablets, and phones, and will serve as the platform for future communications with the FAA as UAS rules and regulations evolve.

Conclusion
The progress that we have made, in particular during the past year, might have seemed unimaginable not long ago. From the beginning, we knew that we had to engage our stakeholders, and it paid off with the creation of a UAS registry and the successful implementation of a flexible regulatory framework to enable routine small UAS operations. Our collaborative working relationships with the DAC and UAST will help inform and prioritize integration activities, ensure we remain engaged with industry trends, and maintain clear channels of communication to convey expectations and solicit feedback. We know, however, that these accomplishments are only the first step. As reinforced in the 2016 FAA Extension, there are many important issues yet to be addressed and we will continue to work with our stakeholders as we move forward.

This concludes my statement. I will be happy to answer your questions at this time.

NASAO Legislative Conference

Remarks as prepared for delivery

Good afternoon, everyone. It’s great to be back addressing NASAO again.

The world looks a lot different than it did the last time I spoke here.

President Trump has taken office – and as with any new administration, there are a number of changes happening across the federal government and at the FAA.

So I’d like to start off today by providing a brief update on where things stand.

As you know, Elaine Chao was recently confirmed as Secretary of Transportation.

She comes to us with a wealth of experience in the public sector. She formerly served as the Deputy Secretary of Transportation under President George H.W. Bush, and the Secretary of Labor under President George W. Bush.

Secretary Chao is in the process of building her team at the Department of Transportation. About 100 political appointees have or will be joining DOT in the coming weeks, and we’ll be welcoming a number of them to the FAA.

I've had the opportunity to meet with the Secretary frequently since she assumed her new role. She has shared that her top priorities for DOT are safety, infrastructure, and innovation. These are topics we obviously know a lot about at the FAA.

Still, this is obviously a period of change for our agency. New administrations always mean new agendas and priorities – and there’s a lot we still don’t know.

What we do know, however, is that our mission remains the same: to provide the safest, most efficient aerospace system in the world.

And in order to continue meeting that mission, we need the right tools and resources.

We all know how vital aviation is to our national interests. It’s estimated to support nearly 11 million jobs and account for more than five percent of our Gross Domestic Product and $1.6 trillion in total economic activity.

Supporting this industry is important to all of us at the national, state, and local level.

President Trump has said he wants to invest in America’s airports, which is great news.

We hope to see this commitment reflected in our budget and the FAA bill that Congress will take up this year.

We’re also likely to see a major public policy debate play out – about the upgrades being made to our air traffic control system, how it’s being managed, and who should pay for it.

The FAA must and will play an active role in this conversation.

I’ll be recommending to the new Administration that we proactively put forward our own reauthorization proposal.

It should be a plan that helps us build on our safety record, integrate new entrants like drones into our airspace, and continue modernizing our air traffic control system.

All of you have been essential partners in these modernization efforts. NextGen isn’t an FAA project, or an airline project – it’s redefining air traffic control nationwide and delivering benefits in all of your states.

The FAA can demonstrate that it has already delivered more than $2.7 billion in NextGen benefits. We expect that number to climb to $160 billion by 2030.

And for programs already underway, we expect to achieve $13 billion in benefits by 2020. At that point, the benefits will exceed our projected investment in NextGen.

One of the key reasons we’ve been successful is because of the work we’ve done with stakeholders through the NextGen Advisory Committee.

We’ve worked closely with industry and leaders at the state and local level to prioritize our investments and deliver the benefits they need most.

This led us to complete the nationwide rollout of Data Comm more than two years ahead of schedule, for example.

So the facts speak for themselves: NextGen is succeeding. We’re delivering benefits. And our progress is being recognized by industry.

The work we’re doing on NextGen is only one part of a larger cultural change taking place at the FAA.

From its earliest days, aviation has always been defined by innovation. It needs to define our agency, as well.

I’ve been taking that message to every office at every level of the FAA. And we’re seeing results in a wide variety of ways.

In December, we issued a final rule overhauling the FAA’s airworthiness standards for small general aviation airplanes.

There’s a simple idea at the heart of these new certification standards: we don’t want to tell manufacturers how to build things.

Instead of requiring certain technologies or designs, we’re defining the performance objectives we want to achieve.

This approach recognizes that there’s more than one way to deliver on safety. It provides room for flexibility and innovation in the marketplace. And it will allow American businesses to create good manufacturing jobs and better compete in the global market.

We’re not just rethinking how airplanes get designed and built. We’re also looking at what goes into them.

By working closely with industry, we’ve made a tremendous amount of progress in the development and deployment of alternative jet fuel.

Over the last seven years, five new drop-in fuels have been approved that are all safe to use in today’s aircraft fleet, and additional fuels are under evaluation.

These fuels come from a wide variety of resources –everything from fats and oils, to sugar and cellulose, to solid and gas waste.

Fuel costs are also decreasing. While early efforts produced fuel at $60 a gallon, some are now coming in at about $3 a gallon.

These new fuels, which a number of operators are beginning to use, offer a tremendous opportunity – not only for the industry, but for reducing aviation’s impact on the environment.

Opportunity drives so much of the innovation happening in aviation today. This industry has never been content with what we have – it’s always focused on what’s possible.

Nowhere are we seeing this more than in commercial space.

Space transportation is more popular than it’s ever been. We’re seeing more vehicles, carrying more types of payloads, launching from more sites.

In fact, we’ve had a 55 percent increase in the number of launch applications compared to this time last year.

With all this growth comes added complexity. So the FAA is looking into new and better ways to integrate these operations into our airspace.

Until now, we’ve considered commercial space launches to be rare events. So we’ve blocked off huge portions of airspace each time a launch occurs.

We know this isn’t sustainable. And we’re working to develop a traffic management system that will allow us to more efficiently block off and release air space so these operations can become a more regular part of our larger air traffic system.

We’re also examining how we should classify spaceports.

There’s a wide range of vehicles that could potentially operate from a commercial space launch site. But not every one of these vehicles can be safely accommodated at every spaceport.

We need to work with industry and your states to discuss how to develop a system for categorizing the various types of spaceports being considered. This will help provide greater clarity on the availability and usage of these sites.

I hope you’ll play an active role in these conversations.

Of course, we can’t talk about integrating new users into our airspace without mentioning drones.

I know Hoot Gibson spoke earlier, so I don’t want to spend too much time on this topic.

But I do want to thank NASAO and its members for supporting our work on unmanned aircraft.

Last year, we formed a Drone Advisory Committee to help us prioritize our unmanned aircraft integration activities over the long term, including the development of future regulations and policies.

It includes representatives from the technology and aviation industries, labor organizations, academia, and state and local governments. NASAO is well-represented.

David Greene from the Wisconsin Department of Transportation is serving as a member, and John Eagerton from the Alabama Department of Transportation is heading up one of the Committee’s task groups.

At the DAC's meeting last month, the group discussed the roles and responsibilities of Federal, state, and local governments when it comes to regulating drone operations in low-altitude airspace.

They also considered airspace access, and identifying the highest-priority unmanned aircraft operations beyond those that are currently permitted.

And they started to look into the issue of funding – how best to pay for the services required to integrate unmanned aircraft into our airspace.

At the Committee’s next meeting in May, we’ll be receiving their initial recommendations on these topics. And their feedback will be essential to the FAA’s unmanned aircraft efforts moving forward.

Of course, drones aren’t the only emerging technologies we’re dealing with. 

Remote towers, which use video and surveillance technology to take the place of a manned air traffic control tower, could potentially open up new areas to air service where it wouldn’t otherwise be economically feasible.

This technology is already being used in other countries to offer air traffic services.

And the FAA has been proud to work closely with our partners in Virginia and Colorado to test these remote tower capabilities.

With all of this innovation happening in aviation, it’s no surprise that it captures the attention of a number of young people.

I heard a story on NPR recently about a group of kids from Chicago who got to take a trip to Washington. For many of them, it was their first time leaving Chicago.

The reporter went along for the ride and noted how everything was new to them. While the seasoned travelers were probably only paying casual attention to the pre-flight safety briefing, these kids were riveted to every word.

It was apparently a cloudy day, so when the plane finally broke free of the clouds, one of the kids shouted, “We’re in the blue!”

We often get so caught up in the mechanics of what we do – the politics, the technology, the infrastructure. It can be easy to lose our sense of wonder for flight.

But that sense of wonder is what creates the enthusiasm for aviation that is going to help continue propelling our industry forward.

The FAA has made it a priority to reach out to the next generation through a number of education initiatives.

We’ve hosted Aviation Career Education Academies across the country, which introduce kids to the many careers available in our industry.

And last year, our Aviation and Space Education Program reached nearly 18,000 students with activities supporting STEM subjects.

I know this is also a priority for NASAO and your Chairman, Brad Brandt. And I’m proud that we’ve been able to work together on it.

Most recently, NASAO, the FAA, and other industry partners selected two top aerospace educators for award recognition. And we’ve been happy to help promote NASAO’s International Art Contest, which challenges students to illustrate the importance of aviation through art.

The FAA and NASAO have a long history of cooperation and collaboration, in this and countless other areas.

In fact, we’ll be signing a new Memorandum of Understanding that reinforces this relationship in just a few minutes.

During this period of transition, our partnership will be more important than ever.

We have a new President, a new Transportation Secretary, and a new Congress. In the coming months, we’ll be considering some of the most fundamental questions about our nation’s aviation system.

I hope you’ll make your voices heard.

Thank you.

U.S. Chamber of Commerce Aviation Summit

Good morning.

It’s an honor to be joining you today at the 16^th annual U.S. Chamber of Commerce Aviation Summit.

And I would like to recognize Carol Hallett who thought a couple of decades ago that the business community should sponsor an aviation summit.  Carol, may I say that you have succeeded beyond what anyone could have imagined.  Congratulations and thank you for bringing us all together at this can’t miss forum. 

A couple of my predecessors are here today – Allan McArtor and Marion Blakey.

Now, I’m sure they’d both agree that on the good days, being FAA Administrator is one of the best jobs in aviation.

On the rare bad day, it’s probably more like being the CEO of an airline – during the 1990s.

In all seriousness, it’s always a pleasure to speak to a group that shares an abiding passion for aviation.

You recognize that a safe and vibrant transportation system is the lifeblood of our nation’s economy, and aviation ties us closer together than ever.

Each day, more than 50,000 commercial airliners and general aviation airplanes take off and land safely in the U.S., connecting people – and ideas.

The people in this room make that happen.

I’m sure you’ve all seen the workplace signs that say “Safety is No Accident.” As you all know, when it comes to aviation, safety is intentional.

Every day, thousands of professionals across the nation come to work knowing that their primary responsibility is to make sure everything goes smoothly on their watch.

Today, because of the work we have done together we can all take a certain amount of pride in saying that aviation has never been safer.

In fact, during the span of most of our careers, flying in the United States has become exponentially safer – in part because of your willingness to tackle some very tough challenges.

As an agency – and as an industry – we’ve made significant strides because we’ve collaborated as a community.

This is of course most evident in the safety record we have achieved as a result of the work of the Commercial Aviation Safety Team.  And we have now expanded those collaborative efforts to look at a broad range of operational challenges. 

Early in my tenure, it became clear to me that modernizing the nation’s air traffic management system was much more than deploying a new technology platform.  It requires fundamental changes in how all of us do business and a constant focus on how we deliver benefits.

We formed the NextGen Advisory Committee to enable us to set priorities and to deliver real benefits. Then, last year when we needed collaboration with traditional aviation leaders and new entrants to our community, we created the Drone Advisory Committee to help us tackle complex challenges.

Without a doubt, the path we have traveled together makes all of us at the FAA much smarter and more nimble. 

My focus is to ensure the FAA fulfills its safety and oversight responsibilities within a framework that recognizes that innovation never stops.

At every turn, I’ve emphasized that we at the FAA share a common goal with those we regulate. We all want to leave our children a legacy that ensures the U.S. aerospace system is second to none.

Which brings me to the thoughts I wanted to share with you today.

It’s certainly the case that virtually everyone in this room recognizes that today we are operating the largest, most complex and safest air transportation system in the world.

I suspect it is also true that many in this room have engaged in debates during the past decades about just how our air traffic management system could best be structured.

From my perspective, discussing alternative approaches when our aviation community is strong and our system is being safely and effectively modernized through our NextGen initiatives represents the right time to be asking critical questions.

Along with my FAA colleagues, I am eager to engage in a full and honest review of the path we have traveled with many of you in this room to modernize the air traffic management system.

While I’ll be the first to acknowledge that we’d all like to move faster, I also firmly believe that any fair review of the past few years makes clear that our work together has been critical to the success of the tremendous progress we have made to revamp our air traffic system with the latest technologies.

We are ready today to move away from ground-based radars and make the transition to our GPS-based ADS-B network.

And we look forward to the January 1, 2020, deadline when all of our customers will have the necessary ADS-B equipment installed in their airplanes.

Meanwhile, the core computer systems in all our enroute centers have been replaced with modern hardware and software.

 This new backbone is capable of incorporating every planned aspect of our ongoing modernization for decades to come.

Notice that I said ongoing.

The FAA can demonstrate that it has already delivered more than $2.72 billion in benefits under the NextGen modernization umbrella.

We expect that number to climb to $160 billion by 2030.

And for programs already underway, we expect to achieve $13 billion in benefits by 2020, at which time the benefits will exceed the projected investment in NextGen.

One of the reasons – actually, a key reason we’ve been successful – rests with a group I mentioned earlier.

Through our NextGen Advisory Committee – or the NAC, as we call it – the FAA and the industry have worked closely to identify and deliver the capabilities that matter most to the customers.

From its inception, the NAC has been led by senior airline executives with an intimate understanding of our shared challenges and opportunities.

In fact, our newest NAC chairman, David Bronczek, of FedEx, is here today. Dave, thank you for your willingness to put in the enormous amount of effort it takes to keep up with the broad range of improvements in the pipeline.

For those of you who don’t follow NextGen on a daily basis, I’d like to bring you up to speed on one unqualified success story.

Last year – at the request of the NAC – we focused a tremendous amount of effort on getting a technology called Data Comm into as many control towers as possible.

Data Comm allows air traffic controllers and pilots to communicate electronically, rather than by voice over busy air traffic frequencies.

At the beginning of 2016, Data Comm was operational at five airports. Today, it’s up and running at 55 towers nationwide.

For those of you keeping score at home, we are now 29 months ahead of schedule and under budget. We are planning to use those savings to install Data Comm in an additional seven towers.

So, we’ve come a long way from those years when our aviation agenda was defined by a fundamental challenge: How do we persuade the public that flying is safe?

In fact, by 2008, we had succeeded in reducing the commercial fatality risk by 84 percent from what it had been just a decade before.

Now, that’s a big number.

It’s even more impressive when you consider that – had we done nothing – the experts predicted we’d be experiencing a serious incident or accident every two weeks by now.

But, we know that this doesn’t mean we can all slap each other on the backs and go play some golf. We can never let our guard down when it comes to safety.

The moment safety takes a back seat – or even scoots over to let some other factor into the driver’s seat – we’ve lost the battle.

So where do we go from here?

Before I was asked to become the FAA’s Deputy Administrator in 2010, I was the president of a major division of a Fortune 500 company with experience in successfully fielding large, technology and infrastructure projects.

I want to put that hat back on for just a minute and report what I’ve found during my expedition into this wilderness of government bureaucracy and politics.

During the past three years, the FAA has been undergoing a noticeable cultural change as it has embraced what has truly been a fundamental redefinition of the term “aviation.”

For decades, aviation was defined as conventional aircraft doing what they’ve always done: Flying from Point A to Point B as seamlessly as possible.

Today, a host of new users want to do the same thing, but with small unmanned aircraft or commercial rocket launches.

All of our constituents are looking to the FAA to allow them to fly when and where they want, and to do so safely and efficiently.

As the steward of the National Airspace System, the FAA must find a way to balance these often-competing priorities. We must make sure that one of our nation’s most valuable assets – the air over our heads – remains safe and available to all Americans.

This balancing act has raised important questions about how our air traffic control system should be operated and who should pay for it.

And, this “balancing act” is further complicated when you realize that our success in some areas has impacts on our funding structure.

We have been spending a lot of time and money in developing efficient performance based navigation procedures.  Better, quiet, more efficient engines reduce costs and emissions.  But while PBN and better engine technology also greatly reduce fuel burn – a good thing – they also reduce fuel taxes which are an important contributor to the aviation trust fund that supports the FAA. 

New users of the airspace with aircraft that are unmanned do not pay fees today.

Those who carry freight versus people pay varying charges. And, business aircraft pay widely varying charges while flying many of the same routes to the same destinations as commercial aircraft.

I think it’s fair to say that everybody has a point here. The question is: how do we have this conversation in a way that achieves a solution that works for all of us?

What will the airspace system look like in 10 years when those operators might also include an airborne version of Uber or Lyft?

Or when space tourists are taking suborbital flights on a daily basis from spaceports scattered across the country – some of them along heavily traveled transcontinental commercial routes?

These are public policy matters that must be addressed by all of our stakeholders.

I can tell you what most interests me and will be needed by future Administrators….

• A steady and reliable funding source;
• Access to capital for infrastructure projects
• Flexibility to utilize the funds in our accounts where needed most; And,
• the freedom to make major purchasing decisions without all of the current impediments. 

There is no business that would invest in major infrastructure projects without some ability to borrow.  No business would invest in new facilities without at least exploring third party financing or innovative development approaches.  

So here’s my challenge to you: Let’s find a way to collaboratively solve these questions.

Let’s find a solution that reflects the best interests of the American people and protects the safety and flexibility of this extremely valuable public asset.

Like our predecessors who came together six decades ago to make sure the world’s most glamorous and exciting form of transportation was also safe, we are at a decision point.

Obviously, we have myriad challenges. But we also have choices. We can each focus our energy on trying to protect what we’ve got – which frankly, is a shortsighted approach.

This industry was founded on the principle that we have the intellectual depth and strength of character to accomplish the impossible.

Today, tens of thousands of commercial flights, operating from a vast network of airports spanning 3.8 million square miles in the U.S. alone, will take off and land safely.

The vast majority will leave their gates on time and they’ll arrive on time. They’ll operate throughout their journeys under the watchful eyes of professional air traffic controllers in an air transportation system that is second to none.

And, as anyone who has ever tried to load up the family minivan and back out of the driveway even close to being on time will remind you:

Doing what we are doing today in aviation is pretty darn close to already doing the impossible.

Thank you for inviting me to be with you today. More importantly, thank you for working with me and my 46,000 colleagues to build and support the largest and most complex and the safest air transportation systems in the world! 

Have a great conference. 

FAA Commercial Space Conference

Remarks as Prepared for Delivery

Good afternoon, everyone. And George, thank you very much. It’s great to be here for this 20^th anniversary conference.

It’s rather intimidating, as well – to be in a room full of rocket scientists. Because, as you all know, I am not a scientist myself.   

But like many of you, when I was growing up, seeing the early Apollo missions in the 1960’s and the 1970’s, I remember the feeling I had when Apollo 11 land on the moon.

You know, those of us who were around then, if you’re as old as I am, you remember Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin taking those first steps. And hearing that crackling sound, but nonetheless the clear voices, as they reported every moment of what they were seeing.

And after seeing that, I think many of us all shared the same ambition. And that was to grow up and to be an astronaut. Who wouldn’t want to do that?

Some of us remember the first time we saw the Space Shuttle. And maybe you saw the live shot of an intrepid pioneer – someone named Sally Ride – to become the first American woman who flew in space.

Today is an important anniversary. February 7^th marks the anniversary during Space Shuttle Challenger’s fourth flight. Astronaut Bruce McCandless untethered himself from a lifeline and became the first human to fly alone in space.

Now he used a gas-operated jet-pack to power himself more than 300 feet away from the Shuttle and back again. But he did that while they were both streaking in tandem at about 17,500 miles per hour above the blue Earth below.

Now it’s moments like these that make many of us dream about what the next giant leap is going to look like. It’s made us wonder what we could do, and how far we might be able to go.

Now of course, I, like a lot of people, grew up and realized – came to grips with the realization, that not everyone can be an astronaut. But that doesn’t mean that all of us can’t play a meaningful role.

And that’s what I think unites everyone in the room here today. In your own way, each person in this room is building on the legacy of those early space missions.

Democratization of Space
Space transportation, as you all know, is no longer the exclusive domain of the government. The industry is accomplishing something truly remarkable. It’s what George Whitesides of Virgin Galactic, calls the “democratization of space.”

And we’re seeing more launches. And we’re seeing more types of vehicles, carrying more types of payloads, from more launch sites than we have ever had before.

And just look at the history-making feats that you in this industry have accomplished just in the last year:

• Blue Origin demonstrated the reusability of its launch vehicle by launching and landing the same rocket multiple times.
• SpaceX has shown repeatedly that it can successfully launch and land its Falcon 9 rocket booster on a barge off of both coasts in a variety of conditions.
• Virgin Galactic was issued its first launch license for the SpaceShipTwo vehicle to begin testing for human suborbital spaceflight.
• The FAA is working with NASA commercial crew partners to begin the licensing process for the first commercial human orbital launches to ferry astronauts to and from the International Space Station. And last year, both Boeing and SpaceX made fantastic headway toward this effort.
• The FAA also issued a positive payload review of Moon Express’s lunar lander, the first payload review of its kind. And this review enables Moon Express to take another step in their effort to compete for the $20 million Google Lunar X Prize. The prize will be awarded to the first privately funded team that can land a robot on the moon and make it travel 500 meters or more.

Today, what we’re seeing at the FAA is a 55% increase in the number of applications compared to this time last year.

Now these applications include some innovative launch concepts. They include small payload launch vehicles, balloons, and carrier aircraft.  

But the enormously high cost that we have traditionally faced in getting into orbit and ensuring safety remain big issues that we need to continue to work on. And the companies that can continue to make space transportation the safest and the most cost-effective will help us to achieve those next giant steps.

And in many ways, we’re seeing it happen already. A few years ago we weren’t talking a whole lot about reusable rockets. And now, they’ve become almost routine.

A New Space Economy
Now, through feats like these, people who dare to dream, innovate and invent are establishing a new space economy.

As the commercial space industry continues to push the boundaries of what might be possible, we will see the growth of industries that are now only in their infancy.

Industries such as asteroid mining, commercial space stations, point-to-point suborbital transportation – all of these are on the horizon.

And one day, the commercial space industry may even be part of our national goal to deliver humans to another planet – to Mars.

Now I heard something the other day that, at least for me, put that goal in perspective. If you use our history with the Apollo program as a guide, Neil Armstrong was 38 years old when he walked on the moon. Now based on current estimates, that would mean that the first person to walk on Mars is somewhere out there – maybe in middle school, maybe a little older. And they’re thinking about and beginning to dream what that might be like.

Now the industry is becoming more complex as it grows. And this makes it more challenging for all of us at the FAA to regulate and to integrate these operations into our national airspace system.

For example, we’re seeing how this complexity affects our policy on how space ports might be classified.

As you might imagine and you well know, a wide range of commercial space launch vehicles could potentially operate from a commercial launch site.

These run the gamut from the large, classic vertically launched rockets to the more modern winged vehicles that could take off like an airplane.

We’ve seen countless variations and combinations in between, including balloons that can carry capsule gondolas to the very edge of space.

Now because of this range, it’s time to look at how we at the FAA designate launch sites. The simple fact is, not every commercial space launch site, or “spaceport,” can safely accommodate all of these types of launches.

So we need to work with you in industry to discuss how to develop a system for categorizing the various types of spaceports that are out there being talked about and being considered.

We are examining several possibilities for the best way to incorporate a categorization scheme into the decision-making process so that we all have greater clarity on the availability and the use of various sites.

And this will also be helpful to potential spaceport operators and other stakeholders – to understand the factors for safely conducting commercial space launches.

And as launches ramp up, we’re looking at how we integrate commercial space operations into our national airspace system.

Now up until now, our airspace and our procedures have been built for traditional aircraft – aircraft that fly horizontally from Point A to Point B.

Every time we license a commercial space launch, it’s effectively an exception to the rules of operating in the airspace.

Now thinking ahead, what does that system look like when we have more and more operations that can climb vertically to 100,000 feet in a matter of seconds and descend almost as quickly?

Well until now, we’ve tended to think of them as rare events, and we block off huge swaths of airspace each time a launch occurs.

We know this is not sustainable. And we want to develop a more sustainable traffic management system that will enable this industry to thrive as a regular player in a larger air traffic system.

You may be aware that the FAA has been prototyping a tool called the Space Data Integrator. This tool – we call it SDI – receives time-accurate data directly from the launch or reentry vehicle, formats it, and routes it to the FAA’s air traffic systems and is used by air traffic controllers.

This data could help us determine in advance of a launch, or a reentry operation, how much airspace to block off to ensure that the operation is safe, without imposing too much of a burden on the other users of the system. And it could also help us to release blocked airspace more quickly so it’s available to the other users of the system.

In December, we tested SDI during the United Launch Alliance’s Atlas V launch of the Echostar-19 from Cape Canaveral.

The comments from air traffic controllers on the initial run were extremely positive.

They see the benefits of this capability, and we’re going to continue to conduct these exercises at all of the upcoming launches at Cape Canaveral.

Now we’re also exploring the feasibility of providing space situational awareness data to commercial space operators. This data includes things like the location of space debris and how that might conflict with a space operation.

As you know, this is a service that is currently provided by the Department of Defense.  

The FAA and the Defense Department are now working through a number of technical and legal issues to see if it makes sense to create a Civil Space Situational Awareness system.

Now there are still many, many factors that we need to consider, and I expect that we’ll be having a lot of thoughtful discussions before we can determine whether this is a mission that the FAA should take on. But it is something that it’s important that we get right. And we want to work with you in doing this.

Inspiring a New Generation
As I look out in the room, I’m thinking a bit more about the successes that you have had in the commercial space industry. And the accomplishments that you’ve achieved – not only in the last year, but in the last several years.

And it dawns on me that while you followed in the footsteps of the men and women who inspired you… the industry collectively, all of you individually, are inspiring yet another generation of dreamers in the young people of this country.

Just imagine the kids that are sitting at home and what their reaction will be to seeing a robot – privately developed – roll across the surface of the moon.

Or when they hear the first commercial space tourists come back and talk about seeing the curvature of the earth with their own eyes.

Or watching that first person when they set foot on Mars.

It’s the private sector that is taking the lead in helping us to accomplish all of these goals.

And at the FAA, we look forward to working with you for that next giant leap – whatever it might be.

So I thank you very much for joining us today. And I hope you have a great conference. Best of luck to you.

Drones: A Story of Revolution and Evolution

Good morning everyone, and thank you for joining us here today.  I hope you had a great holiday, and I want to wish you all a very Happy New Year.

For 50 years, the Consumer Electronics Show has been the place where technology meets everyday life. In the past, that wouldn’t be a place where you’d expect to meet someone from the FAA.

But, with its eager embrace of drone technology, CES has soared into the frontier of aviation. And that means this is exactly where we need to be.

We have a whole FAA team staffing a booth down in the drone marketplace. They’re available to answer questions and get any feedback that attendees have to offer. I encourage you all to stop by for a visit.

For me personally, this is my second straight year visiting CES. And I have to tell you, I find the array of products on display to be just as spectacular as I did a year ago. Maybe even more so.

There is cutting-edge innovation all around us: Artificial intelligence. Virtual reality. Wearables. Digital imaging. And, of course, drones.

Since my last visit here, the story of drones has continued to be a story of revolution and evolution.

Revolution in the technology and how it’s being used. And evolution in the way we, the FAA, are approaching integrating this new entrant into the National Airspace System.

Our challenge is to find the right balance where safety and innovation co-exist on relatively equal planes. I don’t think it’s an exaggeration to say we have accomplished more toward this goal in the past year than we did in all previous years combined.

We worked with industry to establish the first set of comprehensive rules for flying small unmanned aircraft.

We established a Drone Advisory Committee and held our first annual unmanned aircraft symposium.

We’re researching everything from how to detect rogue drones to managing future drone traffic.

And we’re redesigning our website to make it more user-friendly for consumers.

With so many people channeling so much energy toward innovation, it’s hard to predict what the next great technological breakthrough in the drone field will be. But one thing is certain: our challenges are only going to get more complicated.

The sheer number of drones entering our airspace is a case in point. Just like last year, drones were one of the hottest gift items this past holiday season. 

But unlike a lot of holiday gifts, this one is clearly not a fad.

Indeed, our latest aerospace forecast estimates that there could be as many as 7 million drones sold in the United States by 2020. That’s about 2 ½ times the population of the state of Nevada. 

And the pace of change is breathtaking. It seems like someone is coming up with a new way to use drones every day.

Just this week, the city of Henderson and the Nevada Institute for Autonomous Systems broke ground on a new drone testing range located near Nevada State College.    

With both technology and innovation blazing ahead at warp speed, we know that as regulators, we have to lean forward. We have to approach our challenges with the same kind of creativity and open-mindedness that is fueling the drone revolution.

We also know that for us to be successful, we cannot dictate from above. We must work in close collaboration and partnership with the industry and those who fly unmanned aircraft for both recreation and commercial purposes.

So instead of telling the drone industry and drone operators what they can’t do, we’re helping them do what they want to do – while ensuring they operate safely.

That’s the approach we took with the small unmanned aircraft rule.

The rule, which took effect in August, enables people to fly drones for non-hobby purposes without getting specific authorization from the FAA – provided they operate within certain parameters.

As long as the operator earns a Remote Pilot Certificate, he or she can fly a registered drone weighing less than 55 pounds, during the daytime, up to 400 feet above ground level in uncontrolled airspace.

With the FAA’s permission, drone operators can fly in controlled airspace. And drone operators seeking to conduct expanded operations – at night time, over people, or beyond the pilot’s visual line of sight – can request a waiver.

In the four months since this rule went into effect, more than 30,000 people have started the Remote Pilot Application process. About 16,000 have taken the Remote Pilot Knowledge Exam, and almost 90 percent have passed. 

The next step in this evolution is to allow small unmanned aircraft to be flown over people under specific circumstances.

As many of you know, we’ve been working diligently on a proposed rule to allow just that, building on the foundation from the advisory rulemaking committee we convened last spring.

Allowing unmanned aircraft to fly over people raises safety questions because of the risk of injury to those underneath in the event of a failure.

It also raises security issues. As drone flights over people become more and more commonplace, imagine the challenge of a local police officer at a parade trying to determine which drones are properly there to photograph the festivities – and which may be operated by individuals with more sinister purposes.

The process of working with our interagency partners to reconcile these challenges is taking time. In addition, meetings conducted with industry stakeholders as part of the rulemaking process have raised a number of issues.

But you have my steadfast commitment to doing all I can to advance this effort. And we will be looking to our industry partners to develop more ingenious ways to ensure drones can fly over people without sacrificing safety or security.

And further down the road, we’re going to implement rules that will allow routine unmanned aircraft operations beyond the pilot’s visual line of sight.

This need to involve all stakeholders in framing challenges and finding solutions drove a pair of important new initiatives last year.

One was the formation of the Drone Advisory Committee, or DAC for short. The other was our decision to hold an annual unmanned aircraft symposium.

We formed the DAC last summer. It’s chaired by Intel CEO Brian Krzanich, and its members include representatives from the industry, government, labor and academia.

This allows us to look at drone use from every angle, while considering the different viewpoints and needs of this diverse community.

The group held its first meeting in September, and they’ve started work on helping us determine two important things:

• What the highest-priority UAS operations are and how industry can gain access to the airspace to conduct these operations.
• And identifying the roles and responsibilities of drone operators, manufacturers, and federal, state, and local officials related to drone use in populated areas.

The DAC’s next meeting will be held here in Nevada later this month – up north in Reno.

A number of our DAC members will also be participating in the second annual unmanned aircraft symposium in the Washington, DC, area in March. The symposium is really the ultimate exercise in democracy. Anyone who registers has the opportunity to talk face-to-face with federal regulators and industry representatives about regulations, research and integration initiatives.

These kinds of frank conversations are critical as we begin to tackle the bigger challenges that integration poses. And they’re helping to inform the work that the DAC undertakes.

During the upcoming symposium, these conversations will touch on the intersection of privacy and preemption. The importance of harmonizing global regulations so they’re the same if you’re flying in London or Long Island.

And they’ll also touch on the array of new safety and security risks associated with this pioneering form of aviation.

These risks include users who do not understand what it means to fly safely. People who don’t think they should be regulated and are determined to operate as they please. And actual bad actors, such as criminals and terrorists, who seek to use unmanned aircraft for malicious purposes.

Just as there’s a broad range of risks, so too is there a broad range of potential tools to address these risks.

One of our most important tools is education. And one of our most important education initiatives is the drone registry that we implemented just before Christmas 2015.

In the past year, more than 670,000 drone users have registered aircraft – including more than 37,000 during the last two weeks of December. All of these people have received our important safety messages that are part of the registration process.  

And our B4UFLY app alerts operators to airspace restrictions or requirements in effect in the areas where they want to fly.  

While education will always be a fundamental underpinning of safety, sometimes it is not enough.

For example, despite our education efforts, we’re seeing an increasing number of drone-sighting reports from pilots. We had about 1,800 in 2016, compared to about 1,200 the year before.

So we’re working closely with other government agencies and some of our Pathfinder Partners on a drone-detection security effort.

This involves testing technologies designed to detect unauthorized drone operations near airports and other critical infrastructure, or in unauthorized airspace.

We’ve evaluated some of these technologies around airports in New York, Atlantic City and Denver, and will be doing additional research at Dallas-Fort Worth later this year.  

We will use the data and findings from these evaluations to draft recommendations for standards. These standards will help inform airport operators nationwide who are considering installing drone-detection systems.

One of the many things we have learned during the past few years is that when it comes to drones, the future can become the present in the blink of an eye. With this in mind, we have to figure out how to manage drone traffic in airspace that is shared with manned aircraft.

Toward that end, we’re working with NASA to develop a concept for an unmanned aircraft traffic management system – an effort called UTM.

At the unmanned aircraft test site here in Nevada, the University of Nevada-Reno is helping NASA conduct tests to support this effort.  

This past October, they flew – and tracked – five drones at the same time beyond the pilot’s visual line of sight from Reno-Stead Airport. Each drone accomplished a separate simulated task, including looking for a lost hiker, covering a sporting event, monitoring wildlife and surveying environmental hazards.

Tests like these will help build the foundation for managing much greater amounts of drone traffic in the coming years.

In all of the work we’re doing, we are not forgetting about the needs of the individual consumer. We’re designing a common web portal that will act as one-stop-shop for all unmanned aircraft interactions with the FAA.

It will allow drone owners and operators to register their aircraft, apply for an airspace authorization or waiver, file an accident report and keep abreast of the latest FAA news and announcements about unmanned aircraft.

It will be designed for desktops, laptops, tablets and phones, and will serve as the platform for future communication with the FAA as unmanned aircraft rules and regulations evolve.

The progress that we have made during the past year would have seemed unimaginable not long ago.

It’s a great start, but it’s just the beginning.

We know there are many important issues yet to be addressed. And we know we can’t do it alone.

We will always need the input and expertise of all of our stakeholders, so we can craft the right kinds of policies and solutions to the challenges before us.

CES will continue to be a valuable forum, where we can give and take information, as we work our way down this path.

Thank you for joining us here today and being part of this journey.

Part 23 Press Conference

Hello everyone, and thank you for joining us.

This is an exciting day for the FAA, for the aviation and manufacturing industries, and for pilots across the country.

I’m pleased to announce that we’ve issued a final rule overhauling the FAA’s airworthiness standards for small general aviation airplanes.

The rule will usher in a new era of safety and innovation for general aviation in America.

It establishes performance-based standards for aircraft that weigh less than 19,000 pounds and with 19 or fewer seats.

It also adds new certification standards to address loss-of-control – the number one cause of fatal general aviation accidents.

This rule, which is better known as Part 23, is an exciting breakthrough for the aviation industry and our economy as a whole.

Aviation manufacturing is our nation’s top export, and general aviation alone contributes approximately $80 billion and 400,000 jobs to our economy.

By encouraging innovation and increasing flexibility, the new Part 23 will allow American businesses to create good manufacturing jobs and better compete in the global market.

Additionally, we are harmonizing Part 23 with our international counterparts to reduce certification costs for manufacturers who want to export their products.

This rule is critical to maintaining and increasing America’s role as the world leader in aviation innovation and safety.

It demonstrates that we can simultaneously enhance safety and reduce burdens on industry.

And it represents a fundamental shift in how the FAA approaches certification.

For a long time, we told manufacturers how to build a safe airplane. We required specific technologies with precise design elements.

But this system became strained as the industry evolved.

Companies have made tremendous strides forward in aircraft design. And as they kept coming to us with new ideas, our certification processes struggled to keep up.

To address this, we made some improvements around the edges over the years. But they were often incremental and independent from one another.

It became obvious that we needed a complete overhaul in how we certify aircraft if we wanted to increase safety and help products get to market faster.

We needed to rethink how we function as a regulator.

There’s a simple idea at the heart of our new airworthiness standards: we don’t want to tell manufacturers how to build things.

Instead of requiring certain technologies or designs, we’re defining the performance objectives we want to achieve.

This approach recognizes that there’s more than one way to deliver on safety – and it provides room for flexibility and innovation in the marketplace.

Part 23 is an important step forward in the FAA’s efforts to increase safety by incorporating risk-based decision-making into everything we do.

By making it easier, faster, and less expensive to get safety-enhancing technologies into small airplanes, we will continue to reduce the number of fatal general aviation accidents and save lives.

It was a huge undertaking – truly one of the most extensive and challenging rewrites ever tackled by our agency.

And it wouldn’t have been possible without the hard work of our team at the FAA. My sincere thanks go out to everyone across the agency who contributed to the new Part 23.

We also couldn’t have gotten this rule across the finish line without the input and buy-in from stakeholders in the general aviation and manufacturing communities.

This rule is a model of what we can accomplish for American competitiveness when government and industry work together.

We have several of our partners here with us today, who are going to share how our new certification standards will benefit their companies and constituents.

First, we have Simon Caldecott, President and CEO of Piper Aircraft. He also serves as the Chairman of the General Aviation Manufacturers Association.

We’re also joined by Brad Mottier from GE Aviation, who serves as the Vice President and General Manager of Business and General Aviation and Integrated Systems.

And finally, we have Joe Brown, President of Hartzell Propeller.

I’d also like to acknowledge Senator Amy Klobuchar and Congressman Mike Pompeo, who have been big supporters of this rule and general aviation as a whole.

Senator Klobuchar and Congressman Pompeo weren’t able to be here today, but they sent representatives from their offices, and we’re pleased to have them.

Now, let me turn things over to Simon Caldecott.

FAA Caribbean Initiative

Ontario Airport Transfer Ceremony

As Prepared for Delivery

Thank you for that introduction, Alan, and good afternoon everybody.

I am very happy to be back home in Southern California. And I am delighted to be able to help celebrate this landmark occasion with you today.

Some of you might know that I grew up just a few miles from here, in the community formerly known as Rubidoux, and that is now known as the City of Jurupa Valley.

Over the years, my work has taken me far away, to places including San Francisco, New York, Salt Lake City and, now, the nation’s capital.

But the Inland Empire will always be home.

You know, one of the things I remember most clearly about living here in the 1960s and 1970s was how bad the air was.

It seemed like this soupy, brown smog was always hovering just above our heads.

Back then, we also had a saying that the Inland Empire was an hour away from amazing beaches, pristine desert and verdant mountains. But to my friends and me, we joked that that meant we were in the middle of nowhere.

Well, things have certainly changed, haven’t they? And that didn’t happen by chance.

At my alma mater, UC Riverside, one of the main focuses of the campus was how science and public policy could be combined and applied to improving air quality.

The work done there helped this region become one of the driving forces behind scrubbing California’s air of the omnipresent brown haze.

And, over time, California became a worldwide leader in developing and enacting strategies for improving air quality.

This region also took steps to strip itself of the “middle of nowhere” moniker.

Local leaders didn’t want to be just a bedroom community of Los Angeles.

They realized that to control their own destiny, they had to actively build their own economy. And build they did.

In the process, they were smart about attracting a diverse foundation of businesses to the area. And, just as important, they were smart about establishing the right zoning regulations around Ontario International Airport.

Aviation is 5 percent of the national Gross Domestic Product, and the Inland Empire’s leadership understood that the airport is a vital economic engine.

They acted to protect it from incompatible surrounding development that could threaten its viability.

As a result of their forethought and deliberate planning, the middle of nowhere gradually morphed into the middle of everywhere.

In recent years, you decided that gaining local control over the local airport was the next logical progression in this ongoing master plan.

When the folks here first started talking about assuming control of the airport, I think it’s fair to say that the betting line in Vegas would have been solidly against them.

This was really a monumental undertaking, with scores of moving parts that had to fuse together perfectly for this thing to work. And the roadblocks were incredibly daunting.

First you had to get consensus that local control was really something the region collectively wanted to achieve.

Then you had to form an airport authority.

Then you had to reach an agreement with the City of Los Angeles to part with an asset it had run for nearly half a century.

And, once that agreement was forged, you had to assemble a leadership team capable of crafting a vision for this airport and piloting it into the future.

The process could have derailed at any point, and more than a few people predicted it would. The fact that it didn’t speaks to the drive and determination of the leadership here in the Inland Empire.

And it also speaks to the commitment of the City of Los Angeles to embrace and help effect this change.

I often talk about the importance of flexibility and collaboration to our success at the FAA. It’s critical to the effectiveness of everything from our aviation safety oversight system to our efforts to safely integrate drones into the national airspace.

Flexibility and collaboration were also key to steering you to where you are today with this airport. It took the efforts of everyone directly involved in the process, and a number of others on the outside, to make this happen.

I cannot begin to recognize everyone who played a critical role in forging this transfer. But I do want to acknowledge some of the key players:

U.S. Senators Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer.

Congressman Ken Calvert.

Congresswoman Grace Napolitano.

Congresswoman Norma Torres.

Ontario Mayor Paul Leon, and Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti.

Ontario International Airport Authority President Alan Wapner, and CEO Kelly Fredericks.

And, of course, Los Angeles World Airports CEO Deborah Flint.

The danger in recognizing a few is you leave out many whose efforts were critical to us being able to gather here today. So to everyone who played a role in this process, I say congratulations for a job well done.

Well, Ontario, you are now the dog that caught the car.

As of today, the public record shows that the Ontario International Airport Authority owns and operates Ontario International Airport.

From this day on, your job isn’t just to grow the airport.

Your job is also to maintain an airport that is safe.

That is publicly available to all users.

That meticulously observes every requirement of our comprehensive commercial airport regulations.

You have the responsibility to be good stewards of this vital asset. And you have the opportunity to even further define the future of this region.

Your journey has been—and will continue to be --challenging, enlightening, frustrating and invigorating – sometimes all at once.

But I think your future is a bright one.

Now the key question is this: what is the story that will be written for Ontario International Airport and the Inland Empire?

Marketing and building up service at medium-sized airports like Ontario has never been an easy task. And the challenge is arguably greater today than it has been in the past.

The FAA forecasts that much of the nation’s passenger growth over the next 20 years will occur at the largest and busiest airports as airlines continue to consolidate their structures and schedules to become more profitable.

The airline industry also has experienced unprecedented consolidation, with four major mergers in five years.

But with great challenges come great opportunities.

Here in the Inland Empire, a wide range of groups and interests have shown they’re adept at working together toward a common goal. That is very important.

And the region has an awful lot going for it.

You’ve seen impressive economic growth, adding nearly 200,000 jobs over the last five years. And in 2016, you’re on track to add another 50,000 jobs.

Much of this growth reflects the region's traditional strength in logistics. But healthcare and manufacturing are also seeing significant gains.

A strong business base translates to strong business demand for air transportation service. And economic growth means more demand from leisure travelers as well.

Moreover, Ontario's location in the heart of the Inland Empire is an advantage for area residents who want to avoid languishing in Southern California's infamous traffic congestion.

You have embraced change and challenges head-on, with an unwavering determination to achieve your goals, regardless of what roadblocks rise up in front of you.

If I were a betting man, I would say the odds in Vegas have flipped since this process first started. I’d say smart money would be placed on Ontario International Airport to succeed.

I won’t be surprised if, in a decade or two, we look back at this very occasion as a seminal moment in the history of this airport.

I won’t be surprised if we say this was the beginning of its ascendance toward becoming an even stronger and more vibrant regional anchor than it is today.

Again, thank you very much for allowing me to be part of this celebration.

And congratulations to everyone for persevering to get to where we are today.

Thank you.

And now, I would like to ask Alan Wapner and Kelly Fredericks to come up. 

I am pleased to present to you, the Ontario International Airport operating certificate, and the airport transfer letter.

Again, congratulations.

ATCA Conference Keynote Address

Remarks as Prepared for Delivery

Thank you, Pete. It’s great to be here at ATCA. These conferences are always a great place to catch a broad cross-section of the industry and to see some of the latest technologies being showcased.

But you know, I sometimes wonder about what’s NOT being showcased. 

In other words, what’s still being conceptualized that we might see in the coming years? 

What advanced projects are under development that could foster the next set of innovations for aviation?

I’m reminded of Lockheed Martin Co.’s Skunk Works, which many of you know something about. The Skunk is the company’s official advanced project unit that started during World War II.

Or so we’re told that’s when it started. After all, it was pretty secret.

The Skunk Works is where they came up with the designs for famous aircraft such as the U-2, SR-71 Blackbird, and the F-22 Raptor.

Skunk Works engineers were successful because they had the freedom to be creative and to pursue futuristic ideas. Many times, they started a project before the contract was even awarded. There was just a request from the customer, followed by a handshake.

The idea was that with less bureaucratic red tape, they could create an environment where innovation could thrive.  And thrive it did!

In fact, in 1943, the Skunk Works designed and produced the first American jet fighter, and it was completed in only 143 days—a week before the deadline. 

Today, the term “skunk works” is a widely used nickname in many sectors of industry.

Like Lockheed’s real unit, the term refers to that group within an organization that, to put it simply, is working on a lot of cool stuff—stuff that has the potential to change our lives.

So I wonder what projects are being developed in all of the skunk works-like groups that exist across America, and what we’ll see coming out of them in the future.

If there’s one thing I’ve learned in this job, it’s this:  the future is a lot closer than most people think it is.  Aviation is making technological leaps forward that are making a difference today.

One thing is clear – industry is moving at the speed of innovation.  We can’t afford to move at the traditional speed of government. 

And that’s not just a call for us at the FAA. It’s a call for all of us – as an aviation community. Because so much of what the FAA does now is in collaboration with all of you. 

Our collective success is a function of how well we can work together, and how nimble and flexible we can be, in this rapidly changing time. 

I don’t think there is a better example of changing times than what we’re seeing with drones. They’re being used in so many industries like filmmaking, agriculture, search and rescue operations, inspections of rail tracks and pipelines, and many others.

The FAA’s Small UAS rule went into effect in late August. And within six weeks, about 19,000 people had applications either completed, or in process, for their Remote Pilot Certificate.

And one forecast estimates that there could be as many as 7 million drones sold in the United States by 2020.  That’s about 1 million more than the population here in the state of Maryland.      

We are only beginning to see some of the ingenious uses of new and miniaturized technologies developed for drones.

Moreover, they’re thinking the product life cycle for drones might be a mere 4-6 months. That’s how fast things are changing.

But this new industry is not without its growing pains.

Safely integrating drones into a system that already includes everything from crop dusters to commercial rockets is a big challenge.

At last year’s convention, you may remember me talking about the FAA’s work to set up a drone registry. 

Secretary Foxx had asked us to set it up before Christmas, because we knew a lot of people were going to get drones in their stocking.

We only had two months, which was a pretty ambitious timetable. I heard from a number of people who thought we’d made a promise we couldn’t keep.

But we got to work. We weren’t going to let traditional processes or assumptions determine what we were capable of. We had to think outside the box. 

We took advice from experts in the aviation and technology industries.

We held daily meetings between employees at every level of the agency. This helped us to improve coordination and troubleshoot issues more efficiently.

We succeeded in getting the drone registry up and running before Christmas. And in the ten months since then, more than 576,000 UAS users have registered. This far exceeds the nearly 320,000 manned aircraft we have registered. And it took us 100 years to reach that number! 

The success of the drone registry is a testament to how much can be achieved when government and industry work together.

Now is not the time to get comfortable, because we expect this industry to evolve rapidly. Today, we’re talking about small-sized UAS operating within the pilot’s visual line of sight.

In the months and years ahead, we’ll be transitioning to larger UAS, flying over populated areas, and traveling beyond the pilot’s visual line of sight.

Our goal is that any sized drone can operate safely in virtually every type of airspace. We have to ensure the safety of traditional aircraft, and ensure the safety of people and property on the ground.

We’re making several efforts here. We’re looking at research being conducted by Assure, the FAA’s UAS Center of Excellence, which includes more than 20 universities.

We will also be watching the progress of the FAA-NASA UAS Traffic Management initiative. How can we use emerging technologies to help solve potential airspace conflicts in such a way that the aircraft can predict and avoid a problem long before the operator sees it?

I’ll tell a little story on us here.

A few days ago, as part of our agency wide Combined Federal Campaign to raise money from workers for worthwhile charities, the FAA’s Aeronautical Center in Oklahoma City held an agency fair to highlight some of the things we do at the center.

One of the employees had proposed conducting a recreational drone flight at the center to highlight our UAS work.

Well, the aeronautical center is on the grounds of Will Rogers World Airport, which means it’s clearly inside the magic five-mile circle.

The employee did everything right to obtain the necessary approvals – including earning his Part 107 pilot certificate!

But because of built-in geo-fencing software, the drone wouldn’t even leave the ground unless the employee entered a special code from the manufacturer.

Thanks to the industry, this software is on tens of thousands of drones, providing one more defense against an unwanted conflict.

As we move forward, we’ll be working closely with industry experts and stakeholders to mutually solve challenges like this.

Last month, the FAA’s Drone Advisory Committee, or DAC, held its first meeting.   

The DAC includes representatives from the technology and aviation industries, labor organizations, and state and local governments. It will help us prioritize our unmanned aircraft integration activities, including the development of future regulations and policies.

Now, we didn’t start from scratch when we came up with the idea for the DAC. It’s closely modeled after our NextGen Advisory Committee – another collaboration with industry that has been essential to the FAA’s work modernizing our air traffic system.

One thing that’s abundantly clear is that you need buy-in from a wide variety of stakeholders if you want to get a big project like NextGen right.

I know Teri Bristol gave you an excellent recap of how we are hitting all of the major milestones with NextGen. What I’d like to do is highlight how we’ve been successful. And it’s been because of this buy-in.

Let me give you an example.

As many of you know, Data Communications, or Data Comm, is a NextGen technology that allows air traffic controllers and pilots to exchange information using digital data exchange, in addition to voice communications.

When we started working on Data Comm several years ago, one of our first priorities was to engage with stakeholders. We wanted them to see the benefits, and we wanted their input.

Ultimately, pilots and controllers have to want to use it. They have to buy in.

We started off by conducting trials at Newark and Memphis International Airports to test equipment and develop flight deck and tower procedures. And we worked closely with partners like United Airlines, FedEx, and UPS to measure the fuel and time savings Data Comm could provide.

The industry immediately started to see the benefit. 

In fact, our airline partners on the NextGen Advisory Committee asked us to make Data Comm a priority so they could take advantage of its capabilities more quickly and in more locations.

And we listened. We initially envisioned rolling it out in three years. But we took what we learned from the trials, and accelerated the plan.

At the start of the year, Data Comm was operational at five airports.

Today, it’s up and running at 48 air traffic control towers nationwide. The program is two years ahead of schedule. 

But NextGen is not without its challenges.

Performance Based Navigation has certainly made flights more efficient, which saves money and reduces pollution. And while the more precise navigation paths expose fewer people to noise, it can potentially concentrate noise on a smaller geographical area directly beneath those flight paths.

As a result, we’ve seen an increasing level of public debate, political interest, and even litigation.

The FAA has stepped up its public engagement across the United States in response to these trends. It’s an effort we believe in. Because we need to make sure that all voices are heard when we are doing something that affects a community. 

Truly engaging the community may mean more time spent on a project upfront, but we believe the savings on the back end and our ability to use PBN to make things better for people are well worth it.

To support this effort, we recently named an ATO Community Involvement Manager. Her name is Julie Marks, and she will help us engage with citizens. We want to understand their concerns, so we can consider ways to address them.

For instance, we can try to place flight routes over less populated areas, where possible, or there may be an ability to have a steeper climb that reduces the noise footprint.

We’ve talked about what we called the “80% solution.”

If we can get an 80% improvement in flight operation efficiency, we’ll take it instead of pushing for a higher percentage of efficiency with a resulting cost of greater noise impact. 

But the FAA can’t solve this problem alone. All aviation stakeholders, from local airport authorities to the airlines, must take an ownership stake on noise issues.

We have to continue to address these issues, more creatively, more flexibly and more collaboratively than ever before.

We cannot be shackled by past processes that may no longer make sense, or are simply too inefficient to keep up with rapidly changing conditions.

The pace of change is only going to keep accelerating. That means we need to get comfortable with always being a little uncomfortable.

In the skunk works labs of America, great new products are being developed. Things with the potential to change our lives—things that can make aviation even safer, more efficient and more environmentally friendly.

We at the FAA, along with the aviation community, must match their speed. We have to tackle our mission with ingenuity and urgency.

Our ability to do that will determine our success in the 21st century.

Thank you.

State of the ATO

Thank you, Pete. I’m glad to be here. I have some news to share with all of you. And this might come as a really big surprise. 

No one talks about this. 

And it’s never on the news. 

But, we have a national election coming up. I know that wasn’t on your radar. It’s a big shock. But trust me, I looked it up, and it’s happening on November 8^th.

And whether it’s a race for President, Congress, state, local, PTA, condo association, every campaign is trying to answer the exact same question, “How do we get our message out?”

We’re asking that question at the FAA – “How do WE get OUR message out, about the progress being made?” 

Sure, wedo Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, but nothing beats telling you face-to-face. And one of the best places to do it is right here at ATCA. 

So today, I want to give you theState of the ATO. And my message is simple: We’re making great progress on many fronts.

We’re improving NAS performance.

Delivering benefits through NextGen.

And integrating drones and rockets into the airspace system.

I’ll talk about each of these three areas. Let’s start with improving NAS performance, which includes our efforts to reduce safety risk. 

A common analogy in aviation safety is to compare the occurrence of accidents to the holes lining up in a block of Swiss cheese. If we change one factor, the holes don’t line up, and the accident doesn’t happen. We’re committed to preventing even two holes from lining up. 

Our approach can be summed up in three words: Collect, Find, Fix. We collect data from many sources including voluntary safety reports by pilots and controllers, automated data gathering tools, and other sources. 

We analyze this data to find potential hazards, by identifying unsafe trends, causal factors and precursors to accidents. 

Then we fix the problems by implementing corrective actions that are measured and monitored to ensure effectiveness. 

One of the best ways we employ Collect, Find, Fix is our Top 5 Hazard list. This past fiscal year, we developed 26 corrective actions to address potential risks associated with helicopter operations, visual scanning by controllers, and access to weather information for controllers, along with two potential hazards associated with wake turbulence. 

For Fiscal Year 2017, we’re tackling potential hazards involving: close encounters between IFR and VFR aircraft, NOTAM issuance and cancellation, NOTAM prioritization and filtering, runway flyovers, and aircraft landing on the wrong runway or taxiway, or at the wrong airport.

This is the sixth year that we’re using the Top 5 Hazard approach. Each year, we refine our data collection and analysis.  And each year, we gain new insights.    

With regard to runway safety, we’re implementing the corrective action plans developed from last year’s Call to Action with the aviation community. Many of you may have participated in that event. These corrective actions including things like:  

• Enhancing the information provided to pilots and vehicle operators about surface construction projects. 
• Providing better guidance, training and alert technology for vehicle drivers.
• And we’re exploring voice recognition technology that would give an immediate warning to a controller if they instructed a pilot to proceed onto a closed runway.

These proactive investments – safety data collection, analysis, collaboration with stakeholders – are all yielding bigdividends.  We’re making our outstandingly safe aviation system, even safer!

We’re also using data to make the NAS more efficient.  Two months ago, we started a nationwide initiative called PERTI. It stands for: Plan, Execute, Review, Train and Improve. 

Through PERTI, we’re looking at how NAS resources, processes and systems are managed and how they can be improved.  

You could think of it like football. Teams put together a game plan several days before the game. 

Then they execute the plan on game day.

Then on Monday morning, they look at the tape to see how well it worked and what could’ve been done differently. 

PERTI is like that for the NAS. We want to move our daily air traffic planning up a few days. This gives our customers more lead time so they can better manager their resources. 

Then after we execute the plan on a given day, we will assess how it worked, and determine its impact and what, if anything, could have been done differently. Once reviewed, the plan is documented and used to train our workforce, so that we can make improvements in the future.

Earlier this year, we tested elements of PERTI at the three major airports in the New York area (Newark, Kennedy, LaGuardia). We found fewer operational disruptions, and we received positive feedback from stakeholders. Now that PERTI’s implemented NAS-wide, we look forward to seeing greater improvements.    

But we want to go beyond the NAS. After all, benefits shouldn’t stop when you get to an airspace boundary. 

We’ve been working with our Caribbean partners to improve air traffic performance in that region. We expect traffic to grow between 5-8% in this region in the coming years. 

More specifically, we want to develop ways for the regional air traffic service providers to more efficiently exchange air traffic data and establish more common situational awareness. We think it can be especially beneficial for an area like the Caribbean with multiple States in close proximity and multiple Flight Information Regions. 

In support of this effort, the FAA and CANSO have established a joint Air Traffic Flow Management Data Exchange Network for the Americas. It’s called CADENA, which fittingly, means “chain” in Spanish. The Caribbean is a chain of islands, and we’re also trying to link up more effectively, so the acronym works on two levels. 

As part of this work, we’re planning to stand up a recurring operations conference call for the Caribbean region by the end of the year. 

This will allow regional air traffic providers to engage in collaborative decision making so we can better balance air traffic demand with capacity. As things move forward, we will incorporate the airlines and other airspace users to the call.

So as we take steps to improve daily NAS performance, we’re also on track to meet the major NextGen air traffic management objectives by 2025.

I talked earlier about the importance of getting our message out – because if you listen to some of our critics, you might not think we’re making progress.

But let’s look at the facts.

We recently celebrated the completion of automation upgrades at our 11 largest TRACONs. This was done on time, within budget, and in collaboration with labor and industry.  This effort builds on the successful completion of the En Route Automation Modernization last year. And these upgrades will serve as NextGen’s core foundation for decades to come. 

Today, we can tell with a greatdegree of accuracy the current location of an aircraft. But when NextGen is fully implemented, we’ll be able to tell with pinpointaccuracy where that aircraft will be at any point in time along its flight. This time-based system will have a tremendous impact on our ability to manage traffic efficiently. 

I look forward to that. But in the near-term, we’re working hard to deliver NextGen benefits. We’re doing it by working closely with industry, through the FAA’s NextGen Advisory Committee. Together, we crafted the NextGen Priorities Joint Implementation Plan to make near-term progress in four key areas. 

I’ll discuss each area in a moment, but let me say that this process has served us well. To date, we’ve completed 103 planned commitments and we’ve just extended the plan through 2019. 

These are not in rank order. But the first NextGen priority I want to discuss has to do with increasing the use of Performance-Based Navigation, which is a key part of the FAA’s Metroplex initiative to reduce congestion in busy metro areas. 

We have 11 active or completed Metroplex initiatives across the country. 

We’re in the process of publishing PBN procedures in Charlotte and Atlanta. 

And we recently published our PBN NAS Navigation strategy, a 15-year plan to transition to PBN as the primary means of navigation in the United States.

A second NextGen priority is to improve operations on the airport surface. We’ve established agreements with air carriers to receive 11 surface data elements from them. One of these elements is Earliest Off Block Time, or EOBT, which helps us to update our departure times so we can better model system demand and make surface operations more efficient. 

These efforts will be leveraged into our Terminal Flight Data Manager, or TFDM, program. TFDM will allow airspace users to share up-to-date automated information such as a flight’s readiness to depart and taxi information for each aircraft.  With this tool, controllers can better manage the efficiency of departure queues and decrease the time the aircraft spends waiting to taxi. In 2019, we plan to start deploying TFDM at airports around the country.

A third near-term NextGen priority is to make multiple runway operations more efficient. As part of this effort, we’ve now safely reduced wake separation standards at 27 airports around the nation. 

For instance, at Memphis Airport, FedEx is getting a 17 percent capacity gain, a three-minute reduction in taxi-out time, and a 2.5-minute reduction in approach time. They’re saving more than 10 million gallons of jet fuel and they’ve reduced carbon dioxide emissions by more than 100,000 metric tons.  To put it differently, FedEx has stated they’re getting 14 days of flying for free. 

Finally, a fourth priority is Data Communications. We’ve now deployed Data Communications departure clearance service at 48control towers, and we’re 24months ahead of schedule.  More than 13,000 air traffic operations per week benefit from this capability.

We’re on track to have Data Comm operational at more than 50 airports in 2016, and in 2019, we’ll start to deploy Data Comm in our en route centers.

We’re very encouraged by the way industry has equipped for Data Comm. In fact, JetBlue told us their equipping their fleet with Data Comm. And they told us why they’re doing it.  They said they saw the progress the FAA was making. And they could see the benefits they would accrue over time.    

We estimate that Data Comm will save operators more than $10 billion over the next 30 years – along with saving the FAA about $1 billion.

Operators are also equipping with ADS-B, as required by the FAA’s 2020 mandate. The airlines have shared plans to equip 90% of the air carrier fleet. 

And last month, we launched a financial incentive for general aviation aircraft owners to equip early, and we’ve have had a strong initial response.

As you can see with NextGen –

The ground systems are being putting in place. 

The cockpit systems are being put in place. 

And when all planned NextGen improvements are made, we estimate more than $160 billion in benefits including savings in time, fuel,and crew and maintenance costs,as well as fewer emissions and increased safety.

As we look forward to realizing these benefits, we know that risks can come from introducing these new innovations into the NAS. Along with safety risk management, we’re taking proactive steps to ensure cyber security. 

We just stood up a new NAS Cybersecurity organization. In addition, we’re working with the FAA’s NextGen office to develop an enterprise level threat model to identify and assess the risk of potential cyber threats.

Day by day, NextGen is revolutionizing the airspace system.   

But we have another big effort going on now – drones and rockets.    

On August 29, the FAA’s small UAS rule went into effect.  It allows drones weighing less than 55 pounds to fly up to 400 feet above ground level in uncontrolled airspace, and in controlled airspace with the FAA’s permission. 

Throughout the fall, we will be phasing in authorizations of drone use for each airspace class.  

And we’re developing a series of metrics to collect data on authorization requests, enabling us to measure and fine tune the process as we move forward. 

And just like with NextGen, we value the input and collaboration of our stakeholders. We’re working with the FAA’s Drone Advisory Committee or DAC. It’s a 35-member group representing the interests of industry, labor, and academia.  The DAC will help us prioritize and address the key issues affecting the integration of UAS into the airspace system. 

We’re also working with industry and other federal agencies on what we call Counter UAS, an effort to detect unauthorized drone operations near airports and in unauthorized airspace. We have to determine the roles and responsibilities regarding use of these technologies in airport and air traffic operations. We’ve already tested some of these technologies at JFK and Atlantic City airports, and we’re planning to conduct a pilot program at two major airports by next summer.    

It’s important that the ATO be fully engaged in these efforts. Ultimately, air traffic controllers will be addressing the impact of UAS on manned aircraft operations in the NAS. We must make sure our controllers get the training and tools they need.

We’re also working to safely integrate commercial space operations into our airspace. Today, we’re talking about two or three dozen launches a year. But within several years, we could see multiple launches per day. 

Currently, we accommodate these operations by blocking off airspace. As they increase, we’ll have to move from accommodation to integration, meaning that we take into account the needs of all airspace users – just as we are doing with unmanned aircraft. 

In November, the FAA expects to complete our Commercial Space Integration Roadmap that will define changes in airspace usage policy, regulation, procedures and automation capabilities, and determine the schedule by which these changes will be made.  

The FAA is prototyping a technology called the Space Data Integrator, or SDI. We believe this tool will help us determine how much airspace we have to block off in advance to ensure a safe operation, and how we can more efficiently release the blocked airspace so it’s available for other users.

Before I close, let me touch on funding. The FAA’s funding has been extended until this December 9^th. And Congress extended our authorization until September of 2017.  We’re still concerned that it doesn’t provide us with the long term stability we need to effectively manage and implement our modernization efforts and other key initiatives. 

But while we wait to see what comes next, let me say that I’m very proud of the work we do.

Today, we’re moving about 50,000 flights. 

We’re providing services for more than 2 million passengers. 

We seamlessly manage civilian and military aircraft.

We’re controlling air traffic over 31 million square miles of airspace – over big cities, over vast oceans, and through all kinds of weather.   

We’re doing it safely. We’re doing it efficiently. And tomorrow, we’ll do it all over again. 

I’m looking forward to being here all afternoon, seeing the exhibits and talking with many of you.