FAA ADS-B Out Rebate Program for General Aviation

Managing the Changes Coming Our Way

Thank you, Margaret [Jenny].  It is a privilege to be here today.  I want to start by saying that I am truly honored to lead the FAA’s Air Traffic Organization.  And I am very proud of the work we do each and every day.     

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. 

In short, we make the spectacular look routine. 

On top of that, we maintain a complex infrastructure.

It includes more than 400 staffed facilities and more than 12,000 unstaffed sites – such as radars, weather sensors, and navigation equipment and their shelters.

We conduct flight inspection of both civil and military airspace infrastructure, both domestically and internationally.

And we manage and protect the radio frequency spectrum resources for civil aviation.

But while the ATO performs these functions, and many others, we do something else that’s fundamentally important.  We manage the changes that are occurring in aviation.

For some, change is exciting.  For others, it’s unsettling.  It all depends on your perspective. 

But either way you look at it, we have to manage change, so we can maintain what is great about American aviation – safety, efficiency, accessibility, freedom, adventure, jobs.

And the Aero Club has been at the center of the changes in aviation since its founding in 1909.  Everyone here has been part of a great professional journey. 

The question now is “how do we shape the next 25 years?”  How do we best manage the changes that are coming our way? 

David Houle, author of a book called Entering the Shift Age, referenced a quotation that struck me.  It said that “we should all try to be the parents of our future, not the offspring of our past.” 

And while its plain foolish to ignore the future, it’s just as naïve to neglect the now.  In the ATO, we’re meeting change head on.  We’re doing it by leaning in, and working with the aviation community.

Today, I want to talk about three key things we’re doing to manage change.

First, we’re tapping the wealth of safety data now available to proactively mitigate safety risk.

Second, we’re safely deploying prioritized NextGen capabilities every day.

And third, we’re taking steps to integrate drones and commercial space operations into the National Airspace System.  

Let’s start with safety.  The ATO works to prevent conditions that could give rise to a safety problem.  Our approach can be summed up in three words: Collect, Find, and Fix. 

One of the big changes over recent years is the wealth of aviation safety data, and the different data collection capabilities we have at our disposal. 

For instance, we collect data from automated tools and from voluntary, confidential safety reports from controllers, technicians and pilots. 

Armed with this data, we conduct a sophisticated risk analysis to find potential hazards, and then take corrective action to fix the problems.

The ATO’s Top 5 Hazard list is a powerful illustration of the Collect, Find, Fix approach.  Through our data collection and analysis, we determine a list of the Top 5 Hazards each year. 

This year, the list includes: wake separation, wake turbulence encounters, helicopter operations, tower visual scanning, and access to weather information on the controller’s scope.  

Once these items were determined, we developed a total of 26 corrective actions and we’re in the process of implementing them now.   

Runway safety is another area where we’ve employed the Collect, Find, Fix approach.  Since 2008, we’ve driven down the rate of serious runway incursions by 38 percent.  But we know there is still risk in the system. 

So last year, we held a Runway Safety Call to Action.  We met with more than 100 aviation professionals including pilots, controllers, airport managers, technicians, regulators, our labor leaders and industry. 

Together, we crafted a total of 29 recommendations, and then we turned them into detailed corrective action plans aimed at reducing the number and severity of surface events.      

So going back to the idea of managing change – our proactive safety approach helps us to anticipate potential risks that come from the growth and changes in aviation. 

Certainly as we add NextGen technologies, we have to make sure we’re doing it safely.

We are making good progress on NextGen and we are on track to meet our original high level objectives by 2025.  Every day, we’re integrating it into all phases of flight – More direct routes.  Less time.  Less miles.  Less fuel burn and fewer emissions.       

This is not to say that we will have achieved all of the anticipated benefits, but the foundational platforms, such as ERAM, TAMR, DataComm, SWIM, ADS-B, Time Based Flow Management, and the soon to be approved Terminal Flight Data Manager program, will be in place.

And the fundamental capabilities associated with more efficient management of the NAS will be realized.

From that point, there will still be more work to do to leverage these capabilities through advanced applications in ways that benefit all airspace users and the communities they serve.  We have been collaborating with our aviation stakeholders through the NextGen Advisory Committee, or NAC, to determine the best path toward that vision.

We are also working with our inter-agency partners and the international community to produce harmonized solutions that will result in global benefits for aviation.

As part of this effort, we will work with our Caribbean partners this year to improve air traffic performance in that region.  We have a vested interest.  Millions of Americans fly there, and we expect traffic growth to increase by 5-6 percent over the next two decades.  We’ve developed a proposal for an air traffic flow management program for the Caribbean region to enhance safety and optimize efficiency.   

Here at home, we’re delivering near-term NextGen benefits by:   

• Increasing the availability and use of Performance Based Navigation,
• improving surface operations,
• making multiple runway operations more efficient, and
• as I noted before, implementing Data Communications.

You can certainly read more about our progress by going to our NextGen website.  But what I want to emphasize today, is not so much what we've accomplished but how we're efficiently managing the changes.  We're doing it by leaning in and working closely and creatively with our stakeholders.

I’ll give you a good example.

Some of you might be familiar with the New York Triple Play.  We’re not talking about the Yankees.  We’re not talking about the Knicks.  And we’re not talking about the state lottery either.

The Triple Play results from weather conditions that drive JFK to land on ILS 13L.  The airspace and approaches between LaGuardia, Newark and Teterboro become dependent affecting operations at all locations.   

We thought if we could de-conflict the airspace, we could free up the pressure in the region when the Triple Play happens. 

Working closely with JetBlue, we designed an RNP approach for JFK’s Runway13L.  The RNP approach would have lower minimums that would allow JFK to land on Runway 13L longer before requiring aircraft to use the ILS approach due to low ceilings. 

We thought we had a solution until one of JetBlue’s aircraft drifted off centerline trying to get the approach certified. 

We told JetBlue that to fly the procedure, their aircraft needed to have a switch enabling them to do an automatic Take-off to Go Around, or TOGA.  TOGA is a switch on the auto throttle of modern large aircraft with two modes – Take Off and Go Around. 

So the problem was, only some of JetBlue’s fleet was equipped with the switch.

Our controllers didn’t know which aircraft had the switch and which ones didn’t.  They needed confidence that JetBlue was equipped to perform TOGA before they felt they could safely issue the RNP approaches to them.   

So we had a dilemma.  We had designed an RNP approach.  JetBlue wanted to use it.  But they couldn’t.  

Meanwhile, JFK’s Runway 4L/22R was scheduled to be shut down last year for four months to complete a runway construction project, and this was going to take place during the severe weather season. 

So you have increased the potential for the Triple Play, during the severe weather season, plus a scheduled runway shutdown that reduces configuration options at JFK – conditions that could have a significant impact and shut New York (and our customers) right out of the game. 

This required a team approach.  

JetBlue made the decision to equip every aircraft with the TOGA switch and trained every pilot to know how to execute it. 

This gave controllers the confidence and flexibility to consistently assign them the approaches.  The TRACON and JetBlue signed an agreement that all flights will be assigned the RNP approach. 

When all was said and done, JetBlue was able to execute nearly 6,000 RNP approaches during the runway shutdown last year, and we greatly improved the use of JFK’s runway 13L during adverse weather conditions.

This example highlights the importance of collaboration to produce good results and cross over cultural barriers that may have prevented solutions in the past. 

Progress like this takes time.  But by working together, we can figure out how to use new capabilities to our advantage when and where they are needed. 

That last point is important to the future because it brings me to the third key way that the ATO is managing change – the safe, efficient integration of new airspace users.

We expect there to be as many as 7 million drones sold by 2020.  We already have about 500,000 registered drone users in the United States, more than the number of registered aircraft.   

This spring, the FAA plans to publish a rule that will allow routine, non-hobby commercial operations of small unmanned aircraft.

In the meantime, we have been authorizing non-hobby operations on a case-by-case basis.  We have approved nearly 5,800 exemptions for purposes like movie filming; inspections of pipelines, power lines, bridges and flare stacks; and conducting precision agriculture operations. 

We’re developing a UAS strategy to guide our integration efforts and better align our work with other lines of business in the agency. 

This summer, the FAA will establish a new Drone Advisory Committee to advise us on integration issues.

And we believe this group will serve the same type of purpose as the NextGen Advisory Committee, in terms of helping us prioritize our efforts.      

 As small UAS brings change below 500 feet, commercial spacecraft bring change above 60,000 feet.  The progress in this industry is breathtaking.  Last month, we saw Space X make history, by landing the first stage of their Falcon 9 rocket on a drone ship in the Atlantic Ocean.  This marks a big step toward achieving reusability of these rockets.

This year, the FAA predicts a total of 25 launches, and we expect this number to climb as the industry matures.  One day, we may even see multiple launches per week as the space tourism industry grows.        

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.

This fall, the ATO 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.   

And this summer, the FAA plans to conduct a demonstration of a prototype technology – the Space Data Integrator or SDI – when Space X conducts one of its reentry missions. 

The demo 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.      

So as you can see, while the ATO controls traffic, we also manage change.  We’re bringing in new users, implementing NextGen, and driving down safety risk.

As the pilots here can tell us, thrust and lift are two forces that make the plane fly.  When it comes to improving aviation, innovation is our “thrust.”  And collaboration is our “lift.” 

Of course, there is one more power source that can’t be ignored.  Funding is the fuel.    

Stable funding remains a concern for the FAA.  We have another short-term extension of our authorization that runs until July 15^th. 

The Senate passed their version of a long-term bill last month but it remains to be seen what will happen.  

In closing, I came to the federal government in 1992 and I've been in this job now for about 2.5 years. 

I have been so fortunate to have had a very diverse career working across nearly all directorates of what is today's Air Traffic Organization, including acquisition, program management, air traffic and technical operations. 

People often ask me "What's been the biggest surprise in your job?"  Easy–The people. 

"What's the best part of your job?"  Easy–The people. They continue to do the spectacular every day.

So let me reiterate the quotation I stated earlier – “We should all try to be the parents of our future, not the offspring of our past.”  By working together, we have an opportunity to shape the future of aviation, by delivering an even safer, more prosperous, more accessible airspace system than ever before.  Let’s seize it!

Thank you.

Building Your Aviation Legacy

Thank you, Dr. DeVivo.

Thank you distinguished guests, faculty, administrators, families – and most of all, students.

It’s truly an honor and a privilege to be addressing the Vaughn College Class of 2016.

I know the road to get here wasn’t always easy. Many of you are part of the first generation in your family to reach this milestone.  That’s my story, as well.

I grew up in Riverside, California. Both my parents were born in America, but neither of them spoke English until they went to school. My dad didn’t finish high school.

But my parents were big believers in the power of education, and they instilled that belief into their kids. They taught us that learning equals opportunity. So there was never a question in their minds about whether we kids would go to college. We would, and we did.

What I remember most clearly from my graduation day was the look on my parents’ faces. They were so proud to call me a college graduate. And they were thrilled about what this accomplishment meant for future generations of our family.

Looking around this room, I see that same look on so many faces. I know getting here required hard work and sacrifice from both our graduates and their families. Congratulations to you all.

Today is the culmination of your time here at Vaughn. You’ve gotten a top-notch technical education. And you’re entering the aviation industry at a unique moment in its history.

Aviation is safer than it’s ever been. We’ve practically eliminated all the common historical causes of accidents. Our work is a model for aviation authorities around the world.

At the same time, technology is changing our industry at warp speed, and with no signs of slowing down. In fact, aviation has changed considerably just in the time you’ve been in school.

Back in 2012, unmanned aircraft were – if you pardon the expression – barely a blip on the radar. This year, my former chief-of-staff got her little boy a drone Santa for Christmas. And I even saw a company at the Consumer Electronics Show claim it wants to build an autonomous flying taxi.

With all these advancements, building on our safety record gets more challenging all the time. How do we ensure our airspace works for everybody who wants to use it? How do we maintain safety without stifling innovation?

We grapple with the answers to those questions every day at the FAA. We’re working in an industry that’s used to operating in black and white. But more and more of the scenarios we’re dealing with are in shades of gray.

“Risk” is a bit of a dirty word in aviation. We don’t like it. We try to root it out in any way we can. But I’m going to let you in on a little secret.

Our industry needs more risk-takers.

We need people to challenge the conventional wisdom. To think outside the box. To ask questions we’re not considering. To operate in those gray areas.

Risk-takers are responsible for some of the greatest feats in aviation history. The Wright Brothers defied the accepted science of their day when they designed and built the first airplane and proved it was possible to actually take off and land in one piece.

Charles Lindbergh pushed the boundaries of what we thought aircraft were capable of when he completed his non-stop flight across the Atlantic in a single-engine airplane.

Amelia Earhart did it again when she became the first person to fly solo across the Pacific from Honolulu to Oakland.

And risk-takers today continue to hit new milestones. Elon Musk’s SpaceX recently launched a rocket and landed the booster in the ocean on a barge the size of a football field. Then they did it again. That feat alone could reduce the cost of a rocket launch by 70 percent.

All of these advancements were made possible because someone was willing to ask a simple question: What if?

I bet each of you has a few “What ifs” in your mind right now. And with a degree from Vaughn in your back pocket, you’re ready to start answering some of those questions.

That’s exciting, not only for me as head of the FAA, but for the entire aviation industry. You’re our next generation, who will help define what flight can be and where it can take us in the 21^st century. We need your ideas and talent. We need you to be our risk-takers.

Now sometimes taking risks is scary, especially when you’re just starting out. I’m sure you’re already feeling the pressure to immediately get on the right path.

For some of you, maybe it seems like there are a hundred doors to choose from – and all of those options can feel paralyzing.

For others, it might seem like the specialized education you received has already wed you to one industry – and maybe you’re getting cold feet.

No matter where you are on this, rest assured: it’s normal. You’re not supposed to have everything figured out right now.

Your future is going to be filled with unexpected opportunities – and unanticipated setbacks. If you can accept that now, you’ll find a lot a freedom.

Let me tell you a quick story about one woman and her life’s unpredictable turns.

From the time Jerrie Cobb climbed into the cockpit of her dad’s 1936 Waco [WOCK-oh] biplane, she knew she wanted to follow him into the air.

She got her commercial license the day she turned 18. But there weren’t a lot of opportunities out there for a female pilot. It was 1949, and too many boys home from the war needed jobs.

Jerrie didn’t let that stop her. She took the gigs no one else wanted and spent time honing her skills.

After setting records for speed, distance, and altitude and becoming the first woman to fly at the Paris Air Show, the opportunity to fly higher than Jerrie ever dreamed of came along. She was chosen to become part of the Mercury 13, the first group of women to undergo astronaut testing.

But when the time came for NASA to select its crews, they decided that all potential astronauts needed military test pilot experience. And since women weren’t allowed to fly in the military at the time, Jerrie and the rest of the Mercury 13 were grounded.

Now, that would be devastating news for anybody. But Jerrie was resilient.

She found comfort in her lifelong passion for flight and began performing missionary work in South America. For the next 35 years, she transported supplies to tribes in the Amazon jungle and mapped new air routes to remote areas.

The world took notice of her humanitarian efforts: she was nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize in 1981.

I’m not telling you this story because I think you have to go out there and win a Nobel Prize – though I’m sure Dr. DeVivo and everyone here at Vaughn wouldn’t mind at all if you did.

I’m telling you this because sometimes, you’re going to miss out on your dream job. Or you’re going to make a wrong turn. And you may have to start over. That’s okay.

You’re going to have setbacks. It’s how you deal with them that will define the height of your success.

It’s easy to get hung up on getting the right job title, or being associated with the most prestigious project.

But when you look back on your career, you’re much more likely to remember how your work affected other people.

Your job is only one part of who you are. Make time for your family. Be there for the important moments. Never get so caught up in what you’re doing that you forget why you’re doing it.

Our aviation system is vast and complex and has a million moving pieces to it.

But all of it – every bit – can be traced back to December 17, 1903, on a sandy stretch of beach near Kitty Hawk, North Carolina.

On that day, Orville and Wilbur Wright laid the first brick of what would become the foundation for our industry.

And people like Charles Lindbergh, and Jerrie Cobb, and Elon Musk have been building on it ever since.

For the last four years, you’ve studied all the greats who came before you. You’ve learned from your own mentors here at Vaughn.

And now it’s time to make your own contributions to the great legacy of American aviation.

But you won’t just be defined by those contributions. One day, it’ll be your turn to give back and help cultivate a new crop of risk-takers.

Some bright kid is going to call you up for advice. And you might be too busy. You might wonder what you could possibly offer that would be useful.

Take the call anyway. That conversation could change someone’s life.

That is how you build your aviation legacy. By taking risks, by pursuing work that matters, by helping the next generation do more than even you could have dreamed.

Congratulations, Class of 2016. I can’t wait to see what you do next.

UC Merced Commencement Address

Thank you, Provost Peterson.

It is certainly an honor to be addressing the 11^th graduating class for the School of Social Sciences, Humanities, and Arts.

I’m sure that some of you are wondering why the FAA Administrator is speaking to a largely Liberal Arts school. Frankly, I wondered that too.

Maybe it’s because I run an entire agency that owes its existence to a couple of bicycle mechanics from Ohio.  Wilbur and Orville Wright weren’t trained as scientists.  Their friends and neighbors thought they were dreamers.  But they solved the biggest scientific challenge of their time. They believed—and they proved—it’s possible to use a machine with wings to defy gravity, if only for a while.

Regardless of the reason, I’m thrilled to be here to share this day with you.

Many of you are among the first generation of your family to reach this milestone, whether it’s your undergraduate degree or an advanced degree.

I know what this feels like because I was in your position once.  I remember how it felt to achieve my goal, and also the look on my parents’ faces.  They were deeply proud of my accomplishment and the potential it had for future generations of our family.

Congratulations to you and your families for the shared dedication – and the sacrifices – that brought you to this day.

Now that you are officially an adult, I have a secret to share with you: It was all just a test.

Everything leading to now – from the first time you sat cross-legged in a circle in kindergarten to your most recent final exam or thesis – gave you the opportunity to prove something to yourself and to the world.

You’re here because you have the character and fortitude to tackle a long-term project and overcome multiple obstacles.

And I can promise you that your first employer isn’t going to ask you in a job interview to distinguish between the Danish-Prussian Wars of 1848 and 1864.  Nor are they going to ask you to list, in order, the names of Henry the Eighth’s six wives, or how some of them met their unfortunate end.

The important thing is the piece of paper, your diploma.  It’s the magic ticket to get you through the front door.  And what you do after that is entirely up to you.

I want to share with you a story about a wise old flight instructor who was met at the airport by the nervous mother of a 16-year-old just beginning to start flying lessons.

“Can a 16-year-old fly an airplane safely?” the mother asked.

The instructor considered this for a moment and then replied.  “Ma’am, I’ve never met a 16-year-old who didn’t have the reflexes to fly an airplane as well as a veteran pilot,” he said. “The problem is getting them to plan farther than the nose of the airplane.”

“My job,” he said, “isn’t to teach your daughter how to fly. My job is to teach her how to think about flying—how to look past the next 30 seconds and make smart decisions.”

In many ways, Class of ‘16, that’s exactly what has happened during your education.  You’ve learned to think more broadly, to look further down the road, and to consider consequences.

Many of you pursued your degrees with a clear goal in mind.  Some of you may have known since your childhood exactly what you wanted to be when you grew up.

Until now, everything in your academic career has followed some sort of a plan.  And now, everybody is asking you, “What’s next?”

Now, I’m fairly confident that some of you don’t know what’s next, and you’re probably freaking out a little bit right about now.  My message to you is this: Don’t freak out.

Life has a way of sending you little surprises.  When I started at UC-Riverside many years ago – back when Twitter was something the birds did when they were happy – I thought I wanted to be a diplomat.

But a dear friend and mentor helped direct me onto a path that led into a different – and for me, much more rewarding – area of public service.

I had no idea as a 22-year-old that I would someday become Managing Director for the 2002 Olympic Winter Games in Salt Lake City.

Or that I would run two port agencies.

Even at the ancient age of 45, becoming the head of the world’s largest aviation safety agency still wasn’t on my radar.

Some of my friends say that if you look at my resume, you might draw one of two conclusions:  I’ve either fallen into some amazing opportunities, or I simply can’t hold down a job.

So what can you learn from this?

First of all, understand that your first job is just that – a first job.  You will always have new opportunities.

Be open to the possibilities they present.

Don’t become so focused on what you think you must do – or what your parents or friends think you should do.  If you do only that, you can become a prisoner of your own life.

Once in a while, an opportunity will come your way with the potential to change your life.  My advice is to consider these moments carefully.

What might you learn?  Who might you meet?

Don’t be afraid to make a mistake.  And never, ever be the one to say, “I can’t,” or “I’m not qualified.”

When I started thinking about what I would say to you, I considered coming up with a list about life lessons we might learn from our dogs, such as loyalty, or loving unconditionally, or that you should “wag more and bark less.”

But you don’t need to click on a list of 10 secrets to a happy life.  You’re going to make your own list.

You’re going to discover that it’s much more comfortable to live in a world where everything is clear-cut, black-and-white. Where something is either by the rules or against them.

You’re also going to discover something else: That world doesn’t exist.  Much of your life will be lived within the gray, where decisions are hard and sometimes the stakes are very high.  Embrace that.

Learn to take comfort in the fact that you’ll never have it all figured out.

I think of my own case. Yes, I’ve had all of these tremendous opportunities.  But in 18 months my term as FAA Administrator will end.  And then I’ll be right there where you are today – looking for life’s next opportunity.

My advice is to be open to examining things from all angles. Your official university education might be coming to a close today, but you should prepare to be a lifelong student – of life and of all that it brings.

I mentioned a few moments ago that many of you are about to become the first generation of college graduates in your family, and how your path may someday lead to even greater things for your children and grandchildren.

I want you to also consider that the administrators and professors here at UC-Merced have great hopes for you as well.

You comprise this university’s 11^th graduating class. And the things you do in your career will reflect on this institution for years to come.

Who knows what you might become?  Someday, your example might prompt a high school senior to choose this institution, and to set out on a path that you inspired.

Speaking of inspiration, I want you to take a moment to think about the people in your life who played a role in your journey to this place.  Some of them sacrificed for you.  And they put your needs above theirs.

These people might be your parents, your grandparents, or your siblings – you know who they are.  They took the time to encourage you and to set you up for success.

Remember these people who helped you along the way, who answered your calls.

Someday, a bright young kid will seek your advice.  You might be too busy.  You might wonder what on earth you could possibly offer that would be profound or useful. 

Take the call anyway.  That conversation may change someone’s life.

Now, I know you haven’t even crossed the stage to receive your diploma yet, but I want to tell you it’s never too early to start giving back.

Your education has prepared you to go out into the world and start changing it, perhaps in big ways.

But even the longest novel is written one word at a time.  A lifetime of great achievements is accomplished one good deed at a time. Write your own story and make it rich and interesting.

Now, some of you may have heard the adage, “Jump first and build your wings on the way down.”

As Administrator of the FAA, I can’t say that I endorse that philosophy – at least when it comes to airplanes.

But it does get at a central theme that keeps so many of us from reaching our full potential: It really is possible to over-plan your life.

A friend of mine has a piece of artwork on her wall by artist and sculptor Brian Andreas. It reads:

Most people don’t know there are angels

whose only job is to make sure

you don’t get too comfortable

and fall asleep

and miss your life.

Listen to these angels. Look for them.

But you know – even better, be one of them. 

I wish you so much more than luck. 

Congratulations to you all.

AUVSI Xponential Remarks

Thank you, Miles O'Brien, for that.  Its great to be in New Orleans.  It’s great to be here in The BigEasy, and I sincerely thank you for inviting me to join you here today.

You know, a couple of weeks ago I was out in Daytona Beach, Florida to speak at our UAS Symposium that we co-hosted with Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. I remarked at that time – I know many of you were there that we are getting to know so well – that Unmanned Aircraft System events are starting to feel a little bit like family reunions.

Well, we all know that hasn't always been the case. The last time I was on this stage, was back in 2012, and at that time I felt a little more like I was walking into a lion's den than into the warmth of a family reunion.

We’ve come a long way from where we were just a handful of years ago. If we think about it, in 2012, thousands – rather than hundreds of thousands – of drones were being sold annually. There were no UAS incidents that had been reported near any airports in the country. Nobody was shooting at a drone that had flown over their backyard, and nobody was flying a drone into trees at the White House.

Now,  fast forward to the present. A few weeks ago, we announced in our annual forecast, and you heard it from Miles,   that the combined sales of hobbyist and commercial drones could surge from 2.5 million aircraft this year to a staggering 7 million in 2020.

Drones, we all know, are changing the way countless jobs are done, from movie filming and real estate marketing to agricultural mapping and smokestack inspections.

And the innovation in this field is speeding forward at a breakneck pace. When you compare it to [manned] aviation, consider this: the development schedule for a new type of commercial airliner is every 15 to 20 years. If you’re an aerospace engineer, you’re considered extremely lucky if you have two new jets come out during the course of your career.

The drone development schedule, by contrast, is so compressed that new products are flying out of the design studio and into factories at the blink of an eye. Drone development is to manned aircraft development the same as Twitter is to traditional communications.

Yet there are some remarkable parallels between what’s going on today and what was going on a half a century ago.

Back then, the nation was captivated by the idea of sending a man to the moon, and many of the brightest kids coming out of college, their dream was to work at NASA. Today, many of the country’s bright young minds are captivated by the virtually limitless possibilities that the unmanned aircraft industry is offering, and are entering aviation through this exciting new field.

Now, dreaming up new uses for unmanned aircraft may not be to some as sexy or dramatic as locking men in a capsule and firing them off into space. And the jury is still out on whether the geniuses who incrementally conquer UAS integration roadblocks will attain the icon status of a Neil Armstrong or Buzz Aldrin.

But, like the space exploration of the 1960s, the work we are doing today is transforming aviation – and its transforming society – in very profound ways.

You probably know by now that when I use the term "we," I'm not just talking about the FAA. I'm talking about all of us who are in this together. Our progress is the result of partnership and it’s the result of collaboration.

And this has occurred because we found that, despite our sometimes different viewpoints, the FAA and the industry come from essentially the same place: we all view safety as our top priority. And the safe integration of unmanned aircraft is a goal we’re committed to pursuing together.

Now, there are many building blocks in a collaborative relationship. A willingness to set aside ego. To sometimes disagree. To recognize other viewpoints are just as valid as the one you might have. And to put aside differences in the pursuit of a common goal. But the most important element in a collaborative relationship is trust.

The FAA and industry have come to understand that we both come from a safety-first perspective. And we recognize that we have to find the right balance to support safe integration without stifling innovation.

We realize that we need to be flexible. To be willing to look at challenges from different angles. And to evolve in our approach because the world around us is evolving at warp speed. And to stop moving at the speed of government.

Now, the list of our shared accomplishments is well documented by now. Robust UAS test sites, where groundbreaking research is being conducted.

The Pathfinder program, through which our partners are researching operations over people, beyond line of sight operations and technologies that can detect UAS around airports.

The Know Before You Fly educational campaign. The Section 333 program, through which we now have approved more than 5,100 commercial UAS operations.

And, of course, unmanned aircraft registration and the Micro UAS Aviation Rulemaking Committee.

Registration was an ambitious goal for all of us, and some people were skeptical when we announced the undertaking last October. Two months later, because of the diligent and selfless work of a very diverse task force, we had a fully functional, easy to use, web-based registration system.

And today, more than 443,000 hobbyists have registered their drones, and that means we have reached that many people with our safety message. And we recently expanded the system so commercial operators can register online rather than use the legacy paper-based system.

The registration task force worked so well that we all said, “what else can we work on”. So we formed the Micro UAS Aviation Rulemaking Committee to look at how certain drones could be safely flown over people.

In just three weeks, that committee put together a thoughtful and comprehensive report, which will help shape a new rule.

And by late spring, we plan to finalize Part 107, our small UAS rule, which will allow for routine commercial drone operations and eliminate the need for most Section 333 exemptions. This will make it a lot easier to operate in the National Airspace System.

Other milestones are occurring on a regular basis, too. Last month, for example, we authorized the first commercial drone flight at night. We granted that authorization to Industrial Skyworks USA, a company based in Ohio that uses drones for industrial inspections.

And earlier today, we took another important step forward in safely increasing drone operator access to the National Airspace System. We issued this morning a legal interpretation that allows students to operate unmanned aircraft as part of their coursework.

And what this means students won’t need a Section 333 exemption or any other authorization to fly. And their faculty will be able to use drones in connection with helping their students with their courses.

Schools and universities are incubators for tomorrow’s great ideas, and we think this is going to be a significant shot in the arm for innovation.

But as significant as these advances are, it's reasonable to think they will seem quaint in a couple of years, just like that first MAC computer seems quaint to us today.

As hard as we have worked to set the integration process in motion, realistically we all know that our work has just begun. And the reality is that we have been plucking the low-hanging fruit.

So now, the time has come for us to focus more of our energies on the bigger challenges.

Challenges such as command and control. Detect and avoid. Aircraft and operator certification. How spectrum will factor into integration, and how frequencies will be managed and allotted.

To tackle these challenges in a methodical and orderly manner, we have identified three high-level UAS strategic priorities.

Not surprisingly, the first of these is to safely enabling UAS operations in the National Airspace System.  The emphasis is safely.

Second is adaptability. We want to create an environment in which emerging technology can be safely and rapidly introduced.

And third is global leadership. We’re looking to shape the global standards and practices for unmanned aircraft through international collaboration.

These priorities form the backbone of a comprehensive strategic plan that we have developed for UAS integration, which we expect to unveil soon.

Now achieving these more challenging objectives requires us to embark on a new phase of the collaboration that has proven to be so successful. The way I see it, our recent UAS symposium really marked the start of that process.

Those of you who were there know that I made some requests of, and challenges to, our stakeholders.

I said that as we progress on integration, we're always going to tell you what we are thinking and where we are learning. But it's very important that we hear your raw and unedited perspectives on what we're doing.

After we authorized Industrial Skyworks to conduct night time drone operations, the company’s president, Michael Cohen, commented that “the FAA is trending in the right direction.”

That’s great to hear.  But while it's always nice to receive affirmation that we're on the right track, we don't expect – nor do we want you to always agree with us.

That’s because disagreement can be a source of strength, and the key thing is for everyone to hear what others are thinking. We have a lot of bright people who work at the FAA, but we know that we don't have all the answers.

We need to have a pipeline so the bright minds of our stakeholders can channel their ideas directly to us.

And it’s important that we hear not just from industry. We must all recognize there are other perspectives to integration, such as privacy and security.

The FAA is engaged with the Department of Homeland Security's interagency efforts to address the unique challenges that safe UAS integration present to the security community.

We are also part of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration's multi-stakeholder process to make sure privacy concerns are addressed during integration.

And ultimately, the government as a whole must balance the different perspectives and interests on these important issues.

Now as I said a moment ago, we requested unvarnished feedback from all of our stakeholders at our symposium – and boy, did we receive it.

And sometimes that feedback identified areas of disagreement. For example:

We heard that we should fight attempts by local governments to pass laws that regulate drone use because a patchwork of laws is unsafe and unacceptable.

We also heard that we should allow local governments to make decisions that best serve the needs of their communities.

But we also heard we need to become ever more nimble – and not held back by traditional rigid approaches – when it comes to things like aircraft and pilot certification or airspace access issues.

And we were advised to consider that there may be more than one solution to a particular integration challenge.

We heard we need to move toward performance-based system of standards for unmanned aircraft, rather than one-size-fits-all, prescriptive standards.

We heard that we need to find better ways to collect and analyze operational and safety data that we get from industry, and that industry has to find better ways to get that data to us.

Now that kind of advice is incredibly valuable. In fact, it’s critical to our ability to achieve that perfect balance between integration and safety.

And so to that end, I have some news to announce: we are establishing a broad-based drone advisory committee that will advise us on key unmanned aircraft integration issues.

UAS innovation is moving at the speed of Silicon Valley. So it only makes sense that we asked a Silicon Valley leader to help us with this important step.

I have asked Intel CEO Brian Krzanich to chair this group.  Brian has a deep personal interest in unmanned aircraft and a passion for leveraging technology responsibly.

He is also a pilot and he understands the breadth and the variety of the users of our airspace.

Now, we’ve had excellent success with the speedy work done by the UAS registration task force and the MicroUAS aviation rulemaking committee.

But those were set up for a single purpose and for limited duration.

The drone advisory committee, by contrast, is intended to be a long-lasting group that will essentially serve the same purpose as the FAA’s NextGen Advisory Committee, or NAC as it’s better known.

The NAC has helped the FAA hone in on improvements that mean the most to the industry and has helped build broad support for our overall direction.

And we envision the drone advisory panel playing the same role on UAS integration, including helping us prioritize our work. Now, we know that our policies and overall regulation of this segment of aviation will be more successful if we have the backing of a strong, and a diverse coalition.

We’ve initiated discussions with RTCA to help us develop the drone advisory committee roster. RTCA will serve as the point of contact for would-be members and has been asked to support the drone advisory committee similar to their role with the NAC.

And we expect we’ll be able to talk in more detail about the panel in the coming weeks. And we also expect that we’ll have a formal name for it by then as well.

One suggestion was to call it the Advisory Committee for Drone Coordination, which would give it the acronym of "AC/DC." We checked. Apparently, there's a rock and roll band with that name. Who knew?

I fully expect the committee – regardless of what we end up calling it – will be a leap forward in our collaborative approach. But, as I said at our symposium, collaboration is something I see as a two-way street.

It’s not just about the FAA listening to your ideas about what we should or shouldn’t do – although that’s valuable.

Safety is a shared responsibility in which each one of us has a vital role. And as stakeholders, in addition to innovating, you must pour some of your energy toward developing safety solutions of your own.

Because innovation brings with it limitless possibilities, our work to safely integrate unmanned aircraft will, realistically, never be done.

But I have always believed that any problem can be solved by intelligent people working together in pursuit of a common goal.

I’m confident we’ll meet tomorrow’s challenges through cooperation, collaboration, through respect and through trust – and, above all else, a commitment to being creative in our thinking and flexible in our approaches.

So again, thank you for having me here today.

New Horizons

Thank you, Paula.  I’m glad to be here.  Let me also offer my personal congratulations to the award winners.  Their work is contributing to the kinds of innovations that are taking aviation to new heights, maybe even revolutionizing it altogether.  In doing so, they’re helping us go beyond our limits, which is the very idea expressed in this year’s AEA conference theme – New Horizons Await.

Speaking of innovation, I was attending the World Aviation Training Symposium last week.  In my speech, I talked about the old Link Trainer, an early generation flight simulator developed back in the 1930’s.

These things were kind of like soapbox derby racers, or maybe a trash can with stubby wings, a door and a control stick.  Of course, simulators have come a long way since then.

And so have aircraft electronics.  You remember the old radios that were so heavy and complicated that they needed a third person in the cockpit to work those things. 

Who would have thought back then that the radios would now be as light as 10-15 pounds, or that they would be touch screen? 

For the most part, the plane itself is the same as when the Wright Brothers started.  It has wings, propulsion, and a method to control it.  But the advances have been with the on-board instruments that augment the pilot’s ability – like TCAS, enhanced ground proximity warnings, Mode S transponders, and now ADS-B. 

Thanks to advances like these, and others in the electronics industry, airplanes are some of the most connected, information-driven pieces of equipment on the planet.

A pilot today can have as much, maybe even more, situational awareness as the controller on the ground.

We would like to see the industry equip with ADS-B Out as soon as possible.  Let me be clear that the deadline for the mandate is set at January 1, 2020.  It will not change.  That’s only 44 months away! 

The air carriers have all committed to being equipped on time, and we expect that the GA community will be as well.   

We know it's human nature for people to wait until they absolutely have to do something.  There’s a sense that if owners wait longer to equip, they’ll get better deals.  Or maybe owners still have a lot of questions about the kind of product they need. 

But on the flip side, if they don’t get their appointments scheduled, they might not get their installations in time, and they might be grounded.  We’re also concerned that you’ll end up with too much demand and not enough time to get the installations done.  

We encourage you to be creative marketers.  A great example is Custom Avionics in Bartow, Florida.  In December, they launched a new campaign called Early Register, where they guarantee ADS-B installations before the 2020 deadline. 

They will assign the customer a position and guarantee their spot.  And if owners register now, they lock in the price, even if costs go up as we approach the deadline.

Through Early Register, owners can also preorder equipment and pay for it over time, like a layaway program.

Custom Avionics is just one good example of marketing creativity.  I’m sure there are other good ones. 

We know prices on equipment have fallen considerably – some units can be found for as low as $1,500.  But we’re finding that a lot GA pilots are willing to pay more for a better product.  It’s not just about being compliant.  There’s value in getting things that make flying more fun and safe – things like ADS-B In.

So while it’s important for your customers to get their installations scheduled, it’s also very important that the installations be properly configured.  We’re seeing issues where people are getting their installations, but if it’s not configured correctly, it’s showing up as a problem.

As of April 15, we have about 9,800 good installations and about 1,900 bad installations.  Some of these bad ones indicate they are intended to be compliant installations, but something is wrong in the transmitted data.  The good news is that the “1,900” seems to be holding constant.  So the problem isn’t getting worse.  

We’ve made it easier for repair stations and pilots to check if their installation is correct.  They can go to the FAA website and click on the “Equip ADS-B” link on the homepage.  

Just as ADS-B is enabling us to see new horizons, so is the proliferation of unmanned aircraft.  Over the last several months, the FAA has worked to reach a new and different generation of aviators – in venues that are new and different to us, as well.

In early March, our senior advisor on UAS integration and I attended the South by Southwest conference in Austin, Texas.

During one panel, a man in the audience stood up and addressed a representative of one of the major drone manufacturers.  He said he had bought one of their early generation drones, but it was already obsolete.

He asked if they would give him a retrofit, and even hinted that they should slow down their innovation.  The manufacturer thanked the man for being an early adopter. He then assured the man that his company plans to keep innovating, making drones that are ever lighter and more capable. 

It reminds me of Moore’s law from the 1960’s.  You might remember this – the rule of thumb that computer memory doubles about every two years, and that’s when you come out with a new product.  With UAS, they’re thinking the product life cycle might be 4-6 months.  That’s how fast things are changing. 

In fact, we expect there to be as many as 7 million drones sold by 2020.  And we already have more than 430,000 registered drone users in the United States, more than the number of registered aircraft.   

We know that electronic components are becoming more miniaturized to fit on these drones.  Developers are coming up with algorithms and sensors that enable drones to fly in formation.  If they encounter trees, they can split and fly around the trees.  And they can count the peaches on the tree. 

Everything is happening so quickly.  We are only beginning to see some of the ingenious uses of new and miniaturized technologies developed for drones.  We look forward to seeing how these innovations might be applicable to traditional aircraft.  It’s certainly fun to be a part of it. 

Your companies have been at the forefront when it comes to turning electronics into life-saving, life-changing tools.

You’re constantly looking to the next horizon.  In this business, I think everyone ought to be paying attention to what’s happening with drones.

No doubt, industry is moving at the speed of imagination.  At the FAA, we can’t afford to move at the old speed of government.  We have to be willing to innovate the way we do our work, and we are.

For instance, we took steps to streamline the process of issuing exemptions for non-hobby UAS operations.  We recently raised the “blanket” altitude authorization for exemption holders and government operators from 200 feet to 400 feet.  This is another milestone in our effort to change the traditional speed of government. 

We’re also working to be more flexible in our rules by reviewing our small airplane certification standards.  And, based on months of collaboration with manufacturers and others in the industry, we released our proposed rule to rewrite Part 23 in March.

Instead of requiring certain design elements on specific technologies, the new Part 23 rule will enable manufacturers to develop aircraft and safety technologies according to performance-based standards that maintain the same level of safety.

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

We expect that this will reduce the time it takes to get safety-enhancing technologies for small airplanes into the marketplace while also reducing cost.

They might not be required by a rule, but these tools still provide a number of valuable safety benefits – and we want to make sure you can easily take advantage of them.      

Our Part 23 rewrite will overhaul how we certify aircraft in the future.  But we also recognize how important it is to modernize the existing general aviation fleet.

In 2014, we developed a streamlined process for installing angle of attack indicator systems.  Last year, we clarified the process for installing electronic attitude indicators.  We’re now building on this progress with a new policy that will make it easier to install other non-required safety-enhancing equipment in GA aircraft.

We think this approach will help us to drive down the GA fatality rate.  We’re starting to see it move down some, but this has been a stubborn number.

We want to see the kind of improvement that we’ve had in commercial passenger aviation.  There, we’ve reduced the fatal accident risk rate by 83% from 1998 to 2008.  And we’re aiming to reduce it another 50% by 2025.

Much of the reduction has come from designing planes that are stronger and smarter.

We now collect a wealth of safety data, and exchange safety data with industry so that we can identify potential hazards and address them before they can give rise to an accident.  We want to achieve similar results in General Aviation.

As FAA Administrator, I have to say one of the perks of the job is getting a chance to become a student of aviation history.  The walls in the corridor outside my office are lined with black-and-white photographs that capture moments in time.

Some of them are of the aviation heroes and heroines you might expect to see, but a great number of them are of airplanes from a bygone era.

As you look at them, it’s hard to imagine that only a few short decades ago, passengers would climb aboard Ford Tri-motor aircraft with corrugated aluminum skin.

They would sit in wicker seats for flights that sometimes reached the staggeringly high altitude of 10,000 feet.  At night, passengers could look out the window and see tongues of blue flames escaping from the un-muffled exhausts.

Today, our newest jetliners are made of materials these pioneers never would have imagined.  They fly above the weather at altitudes so high that details of the countryside fade away to hues of brown, green blue.

I recently visited Spirit Aerosystems’ facility in Wichita, Kansas, where sections of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner were being built up by giant robots applying carbon-composite tape to a rotating jig.  Who would have thought there would someday be an aircraft factory where the sound of riveting was completely absent?

Similar advances have been made in the world of avionics, and the changes we’re seeing are awe-inspiring.

The FAA is committed to supporting these innovations, while ensuring that all safety needs are met.  As your conference them proclaims, we know that New Horizons Await, and I look forward to seeing how these changes will continue to transform aviation.

Safety Revolution

As Prepared for Delivery

Thank you, Chris (Lehman), for that introduction, and good morning to everyone. It’s great to be back in Orlando at WATS.

Today is April 19^th, and for those of you familiar with U.S. history, it’s the day the American Revolution began in Lexington and Concord, with the shot heard around the world. Our country began as a bold experiment, built on ideals and aspirations. We set out to change the old order and create something that previous generations could not imagine – a country based on equals.

Aviation too, has always been a bold experiment. Through trial and error, and an undying desire to do what no one had done before, two bicycle mechanics from Dayton created a revolution that brought us into the age of flight.

Over the years, as technology has improved, aviation continues to adapt and evolve. Sometimes it’s an evolution and sometimes things change so quickly you’re swept up in a revolution.

We are at the dawn of the age of unmanned aircraft, changing the basic formula of aviation from pilot in the cockpit to pilot on the ground.  We are moving from an air traffic system that relies on radar to one that uses satellites.

But the most crucial transformation may be one that's not as readily apparent: Weare in the age of Big Data, where more information is generated more quickly and from more sources than ever before. 

So how is the FAA dealing with this change? What does this mean for the future of training and for the future of aviation?  Simply put, using data to make decisions based on risk is the way of the future.

The FAA first delved into this kind of thinking when we created the Advanced Qualification Program, or AQP, a quarter century ago.  Some people say the letters stand for “Awesome Quantities of Paperwork.”

Although it might take more work to conduct tailored training, the airlines are given this flexibility because the results show it’s worth it. All major carriers in the United States have chosen to use this voluntary training program to focus their training where they need it most.

With this program, if airlines look at training data and see pilots are doing very well with certain scenarios, then they don’t have to spend as much time continually training for those scenarios.

But if the data show other areas where pilots are not doing as well, the airline may concentrate training there instead.

I’m sure many of you have been around long enough to remember the life insurance kiosks inside the terminals at most major airports. For five bucks, you could buy a policy in case you didn’t make it to your destination.

Well, data sharing, new technologies and much more realistic training helped us put those guys out of business. Today, the most sought-after location in the terminal – other than a Starbucks – is an outlet to plug your charger into.

But here’s the challenge: With so few accidents, we have no choice but to move past the forensic approach of studying what went wrong after the fact.

Today, we have achieved a remarkable level of safety. Working with industry and sharing data has played a role in eliminating the leading causes of commercial accidents like controlled flight into terrain and weather.

To keep up the momentum, we have to continue to identify risks and address them before incidents occur. This is the idea behind Safety Management Systems.

These systems give airlines a structure to look at data from every aspect of their operations. They are designed to identify hazards, assess risks and put measures in place to mitigate them.

Safety Management Systems also foster an environment where aviation professionals will voluntarily provide us and their company observations about problems they have seen or encountered.

The revolutionary part about Safety Management Systems is putting all these parts together over the entire enterprise. It’s about creating cultural change in the organization.

One of the more remarkable stories of cultural change in corporate America is the turnaround at Ford Motor Company under the leadership of Alan Mulally.  Some of you may remember Alan from his many years at Boeing.

At Ford Alan stepped into a culture where information was used against somebody if they volunteered that there was a problem in a particular program or area. There was no trust, and no way to have honest conversations that could lead to solutions.

Alan took some of the methods he developed at Boeing and demonstrated to this group of rivals that they were actually on the same team.

It worked. Ford’s new, collaborative culture helped it to become profitable again. It was the only major automaker to make it through the recession without a government bailout.

Creating an environment of trust where people can openly talk about safety problems is essential.  At the FAA we believe that establishing trust with our stakeholders and having honest conversations about what’s working and what’s not working – without fear of reprisal – will bring us to the next level of safety.

As a result, we have changed the lens we use to look at compliance with our regulations.

The FAA is still a regulatory agency, and we will still use enforcement as a tool for operators who are unwilling or unable to comply. But compliance philosophy focuses on working with the majority of operators – those who are willing and able to comply – in order to find and fix problems before they result in incidents or accidents.

That means changing the way we interact with operators.

We want to work with companies so they will be willing to share information about failings without undue concern about blame. This will help us address problems and mitigate hazards to enhance safety.

There is a lot of churn in aviation and we still rely on our 4,000 safety inspectors to make sure that people are doing things the right way. Sometimes a single error can cause a big problem.

Many times these can be caught at a more local level. So, it’s a balance between using big picture data to guide us on the one hand, and our regular system of checks on the other.

In that vein, we continue to learn lessons from accidents, and we take these lessons very seriously.

New pilot training requirements mandated by Congress go into effect in 2019. These requirements include academic and flight training for the prevention of and recovery from full stall and upset events.

To prepare for this, we just released a new rule for simulator qualification standards that will help make sure simulators are better representing the airplane so pilots can train how to react to these very rare, but serious events.   

This rule will allow everyone to get their simulators qualified and ready for 2019.

I mentioned earlier that we are in the age of Big Data. I’d like to circle back and acknowledge that the flight training industry was one of the first to recognize the potential power of data.

How many of you have ever had the opportunity to step inside an old Link Trainer?

During the early years in the 1930s, these little blue simulators were only slightly more sophisticated—when compared with today's models—than a soapbox derby racer, or a trash can with stubby wings, a door and a control stick.

But the industry kept searching for something better, and each successive generation of simulator became more and more realistic.

Then one day, some of the brightest minds in aviation began harnessing data from flight recorders.

Now, we not only simulate real situations, we duplicate them – in giant, articulating Star Wars-looking machines that are in many ways as complicated as the aircraft they mimic.

This remarkable use of data helped us to truly understand phenomena such as wind shear and microbursts.

 The training scenarios you developed have since saved dozens of flights that might otherwise have fallen victim to one of nature’s most powerful forces. That’s really something, when you think about it.

Today, we’re seeing similar data being used to do more mundane, but still important tasks.

It’s possible for a technician on the ground to receive streaming data from the engines of a speeding jetliner. Something as seemingly innocuous as a slightly high oil temperature reading could be a precursor to a much more serious problem.

With this capability, the technician can order a quick check of the engine at the next stop, well before the problem manifests itself in a way that causes a flight to turn back or be diverted.

Yet, nomatter how much data we collect and no matter how sophisticated our simulators become, technology is just a tool.  All the training in the world won’t matter if the people receiving it don’t retain what they’ve learned.

You may have heard the thoughts of Miracle on the Hudson Captain Chesley Sullenberger on this matter. 

He said, “One way of looking at this might be that for 42 years, I’ve been making small, regular deposits in this bank of experience, education and training,” and one day, “the balance was sufficient so that I could make a very large withdrawal.”

We could look at professionalism and consistent attention to training and behavior as another kind of Safety Management System that we practice individually. Do we follow procedures each time, even if no one is looking? Do our actions form the right habits?

You’ve heard the analogy that for an accident to happen it’s like lining up the holes in a block of Swiss cheese. A series of problems has to take place for the holes to align perfectly. If you change one factor, the accident won’t happen.

Our new Compliance Philosophy and more robust Safety Management Systems are our way of doing everything we can to prevent those holes from lining up.

If we put everything together – better training, better data, professionalism, and a renewed commitment to working together – the revolution we create in safety will be the legacy we leave for future generations of aviators.

Thank you for all the work that you do, and once again, thank you for being our partner in safety.

Unmanned Aircraft Systems

Remarks as Prepared for Delivery

Some of us are getting to know each other so well that gatherings such as this are starting to feel kind of like family reunions.

But we’re also eager to expand our family to engage a broader community in the dialogue about unmanned aircraft. We know there are a lot of creative minds with great ideas out there.

We want to hear from you and invite you to meet the FAA team and learn more about our collaborative efforts to safely integrate unmanned aircraft into the National Airspace System.

It seems that at every UAS event I attend, I comment on how much we’ve accomplished since the last event, even if that last event was just a month or two ago. Maybe it’s getting to be a bit of a cliché, but it’s true.

I see it as an affirmation that our collaborative approach is working. Because every time I talk about our accomplishments, I am referring to what we have accomplished together, as partners.

Our success is not the result of government doing what government does and industry doing what industry does. It’s the result of us joining together and respecting that we sometimes have different viewpoints.

Ultimately, we find common ground so that we can continue our unparalleled progress toward safely accommodating innovation.

This approach is working because we’re all coming from essentially the same place: we all view safety as our top priority. The safe integration of unmanned aircraft is a goal we’re committed to pursuing together.

Before we get started, I want to take a moment to highlight a couple of incidents that were in the news over the past few days because I think they sum up both the potential – and the challenge – of what we are trying to address as a group.

Over the weekend, a Bell 206 helicopter made a hard landing on some railroad tracks outside Baltimore while conducting power line inspections. This is exactly the type of operation that a small unmanned aircraft could do with much less risk to both aircraft and people and property on the ground.

The other incident, which we’ve all heard about by now, was the apparent collision between a drone and a commercial jetliner that was on approach to London Heathrow. I know the British authorities are still investigating – and the plane landed safely – but it’s exactly this type of scenario that we all want to avoid.

As an agency, the FAA’s role is to set a framework of safety without unduly impeding innovation. We recognize that we cannot solve these types of challenges alone. We need the expertise and collaboration of key industry stakeholders.

Collaboration is something I see as a two-way street. It isn’t just about the FAA listening to your ideas about what we should or shouldn’t do – although that’s valuable.

The industry also has an obligation to focus some of the energy it’s pouring into innovative designs toward simultaneously developing safety solutions. Safety is a shared responsibility.

Back in the 1960s, the nation’s collective imagination was captivated by President Kennedy’s challenge to send a man to the moon. Many of the brightest kids coming out of college shot for jobs at NASA.

Today, many of those minds are captivated by the limitless possibilities that the drone industry offers, and they are shooting for jobs in this exciting new field.

Like the space exploration of the 1960s, the work we are doing today is transforming aviation – and society – in very profound ways.

Drones, we all know, are changing the way countless jobs are done, from movie filming and real estate marketing to agricultural mapping and smokestack inspections. They’re also changing the way that we as an agency are doing business.

Last month, I was at South-by-Southwest in Austin, Texas – which itself was quite remarkable. After all, who would have imagined just a couple of years ago that a diverse group of drone industry representatives – and the Federal Aviation Administration–would be gathering for a panel discussion at a trendy cultural gathering?

During my opening remarks before the panel discussion, I referenced that old 1980s ad with the tag line, “This is not your father’s Oldsmobile.” I said we’re trying hard not to be your father’s FAA.

What does this mean? Well, for one thing it means the FAA is doing some self-reflecting.

We’re asking: are we fast enough? Are we flexible enough? Do the old rules work? If not, why? How do we get to solutions? How do we engage with stakeholders? Indeed, who are all the stakeholders?

We are growing and learning all the time. Clearly there is a middle road, where safety and innovation coexist on relatively equal planes, and we feel like we’re hitting a sweet spot lately.

Last fall, we assembled a diverse task force that helped create a robust drone registration system in record time. Today, more than 425,000 people have registered their drones.

That means our shared safety message has reached hundreds of thousands of people we might never have otherwise reached.

We’re helping a new group of aviators understand what it means to fly safely while welcoming them into the safety culture that has been embedded in traditional aviation for more than a century.

The registration task force was so successful that we decided to try this approach again. In March, we formed an aviation rulemaking committee to develop recommendations for how we could let certain unmanned aircraft operate over people.

Earlier this month, the committee delivered a comprehensive report that will help shape a new rule. They accomplished this task in just over three weeks.

We streamlined the Section 333 and UAS test site processes to make it easier to fly. And in late spring, we plan to finalize our small UAS rule, which will allow for routine commercial drone operations and eliminate the need for most Section 333 exemptions.

But not a day goes by that I don’t think of the magnitude of what we’re doing, and the remarkable impacts that drones have had on society in just the last couple of years.

I don’t think it’s an exaggeration to say drones are helping create a whole new means of realizing the American dream.

The low cost for new entrants means entrepreneurs have the opportunity to make huge contributions–both economically and culturally–in a very short time.

Drones are opening up aviation to people who never would have thought about entering the field through the traditional route.

Today, young people are pursuing careers as engineers, computer scientists, pilots and even lawyers with the intent of applying their skills through drones.

This demand has led to the creation of new education programs at colleges throughout the country. Right here at Embry Riddle you can get a Bachelor of Science in Unmanned Aircraft Systems Science degree.

And speaking of Embry Riddle, I’d like to pause for a second and thank our gracious hosts for providing the venue and bearing the heavy logistical load for what I know is going to be an illuminating and productive symposium.

I also want to sincerely thank everyone for taking time out of your busy schedules to be part of this discussion. The fact that we all assembled on such short notice shows we all agree about the importance of pushing integration to the next level.

In a moment I’m going to talk about what I hope we’ll accomplish over the next couple of days. But first, I want to mention that today is an especially significant milestone for UAS research.

Today, all six FAA UAS test sites in Alaska, North Dakota, Nevada, New York, Texas and Virginia are testing NASA’s unmanned aircraft traffic management system, better known as UTM.

Through UTM, NASA is researching prototype technologies that could enable safe and efficient low-altitude UAS operations.

In today’s tests, the UTM system will check for conflicts, approve or deny flight plans and notify users of any constraints. NASA’s goal is to obtain information to further refine and develop the system.

These tests are a prime example of something I said a few minutes ago – the FAA and industry both have key roles to play in the integration process. Neither of us is going to solve all of the challenges flying solo.

Working together, we have already tackled a lot of the low-hanging fruit. The purpose of this symposium is to build on the momentum we have developed over the past several months.

We need to start thinking about bigger challenges, so I propose that we use this symposium to frame these challenges together.

I would like today to mark the beginning of a new phase of the collaboration that has proved to be so successful. Toward this end, we have identified three high-level UAS strategic priorities.

Not surprisingly, the first is safely enabling UAS operations in the National Airspace System.

Second is adaptability. We want to create an environment in which emerging technology can be safely and rapidly introduced.

And third is global leadership. We’re looking to shape the global standards and practices for UAS through international collaboration.

These priorities form the backbone of a comprehensive strategic plan for UAS integration that we expect to release soon.

Now I’m going to touch on what I hope we’ll accomplish over the next two days. I want to outline what the FAA team is going to do and what I expect of you as key stakeholders.

Every FAA speaker at this symposium has three goals.

First: to explain. These are FAA decision makers in their respective areas. They’re here to tell you where the agency is heading and how we’re going to get there, what challenges we’re facing and where we need help.

Second: to listen. While we’re going to do some talking, we’re absolutely going to be listening too. We’re going to tell you the direction we’re leaning, but that doesn’t mean you have to agree.

In fact, we know most of you won’t agree with everything that’s said on this stage this afternoon. Disagreement can be a source of strength, and the key thing is for everyone to hear what the other is thinking.

Which leads to the third goal: We’re really here to engage. I expect a robust dialogue in every single one of tomorrow’s breakout sessions.

We’ve set up a feedback system so that everyone gets a chance to provide input – not just the loudest voices in the room. (I want to be clear that I wasn’t looking at any particular person when I said that.)

Now, I need to point out here that the FAA plays an important role in regulating this new industry, but we must all recognize there are other perspectives, such as privacy and security.

The FAA is engaged in interagency discussions with the Department of Homeland Security's efforts to address the unique challenges safe integration of UAS present to the security community.

We are also part of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration's multi-stakeholder process to make sure privacy concerns are addressed during integration. Ultimately, the government as a whole must balance the different equities and interests on these important issues.

What we’re really looking at today is starting to frame these issues into actionable problems that we can start addressing on the safety side of the equation.

I have the same expectation for all attendees – to listen, but also to engage. I want you to speak up when you agree but also when you disagree.

I promise your comments will not fall on deaf ears – in fact, we brought a team of note-takers to make sure we capture everyone’s viewpoints.

Tomorrow is going to be a very full day, and it’s going to give us the opportunity to hear all viewpoints.

The day will feature a dozen sessions including a keynote luncheon panel on integration that will reflect a wide range of opinions and viewpoints.

Working together, we have accomplished a truly incredible amount in the last couple of years. But we’re still really at the beginning of the process.

I like to say that safely integrating unmanned aircraft is never going to be a finite process where one day we’ll sit back and say, OK, our work is done.

Frankly, our work is never done. I made that point in a recent meeting where someone asked when we would be done integrating unmanned aircraft. I responded that we’re still not done integrating manned aircraft!

The point is that we have to constantly evolve in our approach. We’re going to succeed because we’re committed to evolving, to being flexible and to working with stakeholders each and every step of the way.

What comes out of this symposium may not reflect the position of every stakeholder, but it will be what we agree upon collectively as a group.

I am grateful to everyone that made this trip, and I hope you’re all ready to contribute to the constructive dialogue needed to keep us moving forward.

A Pilot’s Lifeline

Thank you, Paul.  I’m honored to be here.  I’d like to start out by reading a note from a pilot a few of you helped.  Here it goes: 

“I’ve started this email at least a dozen times.  It’s hard to put into words the emotions, relief and gratitude I feel from the St. Louis Approach Control personnel, but more specifically Air Traffic Controller Mark Schad. 

Hard IFR was what I was flying when I began losing my vacuum while west bound around the Indiana/Illinois border.  I announced to St. Louis Approach Control that I was losing vacuum pressure and would like to be diverted to the nearest airport.  The controller I spoke to directed me to a close airport with an instrument approach and when I pulled up the approach plates I learned the weather was below decision height … . Shortly thereafter I lost all vacuum pressure.

So you see where this is going.  He’s in trouble, and he’s alone.  This is where everything Archie League stood for comes in.  Let me continue reading: 

“When I next spoke to St. Louis Approach Control I spoke to Mark Shad who informed me he was taking all responsibilities from me and all he wanted me to do was fly the plane.  He gave me a heading to Alton, Illinois which had an ILS approach.  He made sure I made only standard rate turns or less and maintained my attitude and altitude.  When it came time to intercept the glide slope he monitored and talked me through interception, capture and descent… .

At the very least, I can honestly say that Mark was instrumental in my successful landing at Alton and more likely was instrumental in saving my life… .  

The pilot goes on to express his appreciation for the professional service we provide, and praises the skill and ability of all of you, as our controllers.

I’ve seen a handful of notes like this over the years, and they always bring into sharp focus what we do and why we do it.  There’s a Traffic Situation Display in my office, and it’s covered with dots that crawl across the screen.  Notes like this remind me that those blips are people.  But they also remind me that every one of those people is in very good hands – thanks to controllers like all of you. 

The truth of the matter is that sometimes a controller is the pilot’s only lifeline. 

When the plane fails, the controller is capable.

When the pilot struggles, the controller is calm.

When the weather is bad, the controller sees clearly. 

In moments like this, seconds count, and there’s no time to reach for a manual.  Controllers call upon their training, call upon their teammates, and do what they can to make sure pilots and passengers get home safely to their families. 

It’s been said that “Today’s preparation determines tomorrow's achievement.”  Because you are prepared, you’re able to deliver when the unexpected occurs.

Somebody was recently telling me about an airline pilot who was convinced that he had trained and flown his entire career for the 30 seconds that his aircraft encountered a microburst.  The pilot said, "All of the thousands of hours of experience culminated in a moment that determined whether we all went home that night safely or ended up as the lead story on the evening news."  Everybody in this room knows exactly what he's talking about. 

I want to thank the men and women receiving awards tonight.  And we all should recognize everyone who was nominated.  Just having your name mentioned in this conversation says a lot about you and it says a lot about how you get the job done.   

I also want to thank our entire controller workforce for everything you do to keep our system the safest in the world.

I think the Today Show’s Matt Lauer put it very well in a segment they aired after he visited JFK Tower a few weeks back.  Referring to the job you do, he said, “that’s one of those jobs that you only hear about when something goes wrong, but on a daily basis they do that job so well, day in and day out.”

The FAA and NATCA are proud of you.  I value the partnership our organizations have forged.  Together, we’ve raised the bar.  We’ve collaborated on many safety programs and campaigns including:

• The Air Traffic Safety Action Program
• Professional Standards
• Turn Off, Tune In, and
• Fully Charged

Since ATSAP started 8 years ago, you’ve submitted more than 110,000 safety reports.  The direct result is that we’ve been able to make more than 150 corrective actions.

We’ve just launched a new campaign called Take a Stand For Safety to address key safety topics like soliciting and sharing up-to-date weather information so pilots and controllers can make the best decision possible. 

And we’ve also put the Respect campaign in place, which focuses on ensuring a workplace with dignity, support and respect between all individuals that work together to maintain the safety of the National Airspace System.

Just as we work together on safety and workplace culture, we’ve also made great progress with NextGen modernization.

• Last year, we completed the deployment of En Route Automation Modernization at 20 en route centers. 
• We’re working together on Terminal Automation Modernization/Replacement, which is in full production mode. 
• Data Communication’s departure clearance service is now operational at 12 towers, and we’re 1 year ahead of schedule. 
• We’ve safely reduced wake separation standards at 14 locations.
• We’re using the Surface Visualization Tool at eight TRACONs, two en route centers, and the Command Center.    
• We also have 11 active or completed Metroplex initiatives across the country.

As we look to the future, we need to turn our attention and our partnership toward addressing the issues involved with the integration of unmanned aircraft, or drones, into the airspace.

Just last week, I was part of a panel at the South by Southwest Conferences and Festivals in Austin, Texas, to talk about the future of drones.  During my comments, I noted that aviation hasn’t seen such a rapid pace of innovation since the days after World War II, when jet engines ushered us into what we now call the Jet Age.

I told the audience that it’s not an option for the FAA to continue moving at the pace of government while the drone industry is moving at the speed of imagination.

Maybe some of you are old enough to remember the old ads with the slogan, “This isn’t your father’s Oldsmobile?”  Well, this isn’t your father’s FAA.  Across all of our lines of business, we are working smarter and more efficiently.  If we are doing something “because we’ve always done it this way” it’s probably time to take another look.

Until now, with drones, we’ve been focused on the regulatory side.  We’re going to issue the rule for small Unmanned Aircraft Systems later this spring, and we’re working to develop detect and avoid technologies.  In the meantime, we have authorized more than 4,200 operations on a case-by-case basis for purposes like precision agriculture, power line and flare stack inspection, and movie and pro football practice filming.

But as we move toward true integration, we recognize the need for controllers to be more involved.  It needs be a joint effort between the FAA and NATCA. 

To that end, we’re making sure you’re a partner in our Pathfinder 4 initiative for unmanned aircraft.  It’s an effort to develop a technology to detect rogue drones around airports.  We need controllers to be involved with the testing and evaluation of any new technologies because ultimately, you’ll be the ones using the information to maintain safe operations.

Then, we have to consider how to add UAS as a component in our basic and recurrent controller training programs. 

The bottom line is, you’re critical to aviation safety and we want you to have all the tools you need, so we’re all prepared for any situation in the national airspace.  And as our award winners tonight have shown us, it’s preparation that makes the difference. 

Let me close by again thanking all of our controllers for the job you do.  I look forward with great anticipation as we continue to work together to mitigate safety risk, modernize the system, and address new challenges.  There’s no question in my mind that you’re equal to the task.  The proof of that is found in our unparalleled safety record. We all know it is a direct result of the dedication and professionalism our controller workforce shows every day.

Earlier I read the note by the pilot who was so thankful to a controller that got him home safely.  I rest a little easier at night knowing that controllers such as those in this room stand watch in our towers and radar rooms.

The same is true of the millions of passengers who board their flights with scarcely a bigger worry than whether they got stuck in a middle seat or if the on-board Internet service works.

Like all of you, I hope your shifts are not memorable. But if they are, I know we are in good hands.

Thank you.

South by Southwest Press Event

I’m honored to be here with such a broad group of stakeholders who share our interest in safely and efficiently integrating unmanned aircraft into our skies.

I want to thank the Small UAV Coalition and Google for leading the effort to organize this event, and I want to thank all the industry representatives who took time out of their busy schedules to join us. There are far too many folks to mention individually, but I’m delighted that we’re all gathered together here.

The fact that we’re all here is a testament to the enormous influence unmanned aircraft have had on our society in an incredibly short period of time. Think about it: who would have imagined a couple of years ago that a group this diverse would be gathering for a panel discussion about drones at South by Southwest, of all places? But here we are, and I’m looking forward to what I know will be a productive and illuminating conversation.

The theme of today’s panel is the future of small UAS. But before we get there, I want to talk a bit about where we are today, and how we got here.

We’re not even three months into 2016, but we have already made significant progress on several important initiatives: a robust registration system, a MicroUAS aviation rulemaking committee, and a successful No Drone Zone campaign for the Super Bowl, just to name a few. When I say we have made progress, I mean all of us, working together, in fruitful and productive partnerships.

You know the old saying that the whole is greater than the sum of the parts? That couldn’t be truer of the work that we’re engaged in. The wide array of industry representatives here today underscores that while we may sometimes have different opinions and ideas, we’re all coming from essentially the same place: we all view safety as our top priority, and the safe integration of unmanned aircraft is a goal that we’re committed to pursuing together.

A couple of months ago, I was doing an interview with a reporter about UAS registration, and I teased him for scoffing at our registration plan when we first announced it last fall. When I did that interview, in early January, about 182,000 hobbyists had registered their UAS. Today, that number has more than doubled, to nearly 400,000.

That’s really quite remarkable, and we are very encouraged by these numbers. I think we all see registration as an important educational tool. It is a way of letting operators know that as soon as they start flying outdoors, they are in effect pilots. So one way of looking at the registration numbers is that our shared safety message has reached hundreds of thousands of operators. We are helping them understand what it means to fly safely while welcoming them into the safety culture that has been embedded in traditional aviation for more than a century.

We have a successful registration system because we – the FAA – knew that we couldn’t, and shouldn’t, go it alone. We set up a diverse task force to develop recommendations for what the system should look like.

The task force members demonstrated the commitment, creativity, drive and humility that we expected as they tackled this daunting challenge. I say humility because with this kind of process, it’s rare that everyone gets exactly what they want. Yet the task force came out with consensus recommendations that reflected the members’ willingness to compromise in pursuit of a common goal. The end result is that hundreds of thousands of people have absorbed our safety message because we all worked together.

Some of our registration task force partners joined us in early January at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas for a press event to provide updates on the registration process and other initiatives. A few of us were chatting afterward and someone suggested that the registration task force was so effective that we should do something similar to develop rules for MicroUAS. This wasn’t the first time we had heard this suggestion; a number of people advocated a separate “micro” classification in comments they made on our proposed small UAS rule.

The idea was that we shouldn’t treat all UAS the same. Some–might be carved out and considered differently because they would pose less of a hazard due to their size, shape, weight or materials.

Well, we listened. Late last month, we announced that we are setting up an Aviation Rulemaking Committee to develop recommendations for how we can safely allow certain UAS to be operated with people below. Our goal is to create a performance-based regulatory framework that addresses potential hazards, rather than a classification that is based only on weight and speed.

This is a notable departure from how we have traditionally approached safety, and it reflects our firm belief that being flexible and open-minded is key to successfully integrating new technologies into the world’s busiest, most complex – and safest–aviation system.

The UAS registration task force was the model for this rulemaking committee, which now includes more than two-dozen aviation stakeholders.

Among them are UAS manufacturers, UAS operators, researchers, airline and general aviation pilot organizations, and many others. The committee began meeting last week and will issue its final report on April 1. After we review that report, we will draft a proposed rule that I’m confident will reflect the rich array of perspectives offered by the committee.

Speaking of new rules, we expect to have our small UAS rule finalized this spring. As most of you know, this rule will allow for routine commercial operations of small UAS within certain limitations. It will, for the most part, eliminate the need to issue Section 333 exemptions on a case-by-case basis, and it will open up access to the national airspace system while maintaining today’s high safety standards.

Our partners in industry, government and law enforcement also were instrumental in helping spread the word that the airspace around Levi’s Stadium in the San Francisco Bay Area was a No Drone Zone during the Super Bowl. Among them were UAS manufacturers, Know Before You Fly, local airports, the FBI, NORAD, Levi’s Stadium, the San Francisco 49ers, the NFL, tourism bureaus and others.

I can tell you that without exception, everyone we contacted enthusiastically pitched in to help get the word out, immediately asking, “what do you need from us?” I’m happy to say there was not a single instance of a drone violating the airspace restrictions around the stadium during game-time. (I wish I could say the same about manned aircraft – four pilots intruded into the restricted airspace and were intercepted by fighter jets, which I understand is not a particularly pleasant experience.)

We have a host of other initiatives under way or planned. And in that regard, I have some news to deliver.

You’re probably familiar with our free B4UFLY smart phone app, which lets pilots know whether it’s safe to fly in their current or planned locations. We introduced it for limited beta testing last August and in January made an updated iOS version of the app available for the general public.

Today, I am pleased to announce that the Android version of the app will also be publicly available later today, also free of charge. There are currently more than 35,000 people using B4UFLY, almost all of them iOS users, but now users of virtually all smart phones will have access to it, which we believe will help heighten public awareness about what it means to fly unmanned aircraft safely. The Android version includes a lot of updates based on feedback from beta testers, like a much more user-friendly flight-planning feature.

This app started as an effort by the FAA to help UAS users know, in real-time, about where it is and is not safe to fly. I’m proud that the FAA has taken this leadership role. The public and our stakeholders expect us to pave the way in aviation safety outreach and education, and we will continue to do so. But I also see B4UFLY as another opportunity for us to expand collaboration with industry.

So I’m committing today to create a framework for the app’s programming and logic to be available to the general public. We recognize that getting B4UFLY into the hands of people like you, to give you the opportunity to include it in your own operating systems or mobile platforms, is the right approach to ensure drone operators receive the best safety guidance available.

The fact is, safely integrating unmanned aircraft is never going to be a finite process where one day we’ll sit back and say, OK, our work is done. We have to constantly evolve in our approach so we can accommodate innovation while maintaining the highest levels of safety.

I have said more than once that innovation moves at the speed of imagination and that government has traditionally moved at, well, the speed of government. And when you’re a safety agency like the FAA, a methodical and deliberative approach is necessary.

But at the same time, we are working to change the traditional speed of government – when possible–by anticipating what’s coming next and maintaining a flexible regulatory approach. Remember that ad from the 1980s with the tag line, “This is not your father’s Oldsmobile”? Well, we’re trying hard not to be your father’s FAA.

What does the future hold in terms of uses for UAS? Well, I’m pretty sure ideas are percolating in some of the amazingly creative minds in this room even as I speak. While I can’t predict what those ideas might be, I do know that there is a theme behind everything we have been doing to help translate ideas into reality.

That theme is that we have been finding our way forward through partnerships–with industry, with government and with law enforcement. I can say with certainty that the path in front of us will continue to be paved with the same kind of partnerships that have taken us to where we are today.

Integrating UAS has been a fascinating and energizing journey, and I am confident that by continuing to work closely together, we will benefit from the virtually limitless potential this segment of aviation brings to our increasingly connected society. And we will do so as safely and as expeditiously as possible.