Automatic Surveillance-B Case Study

The next-gen air traffic control system has many different components. However, one of them stands out from the rest. That will be the Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast also known as ADS-B. The Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast system will help improve the tracking of aircraft and also help increase the efficiency of the entire air traffic system. The reasoning behind this is because it will allow tracking over areas without radar coverage, it will improve tracking of aircraft, and it will help pilots keep track of what is in the airspace around them. The ADS-B system will help air traffic controllers keep an eye on aircraft flying over areas without radar coverage. The current system in place for air traffic controllers …show more content…
If an aircraft were to go down over the ocean today it will probably take precious time to be able to locate the location where the aircraft went down. The reason is since aircraft must have a large following distance in areas without radar because of this the area where the accident could have occurred is also very large. There are a few cases where this has occurred because the rescuers only had a general idea of where the aircraft went down. If the plane flew of course before crashing it may be next to impossible to locate. The automatic dependent surveillance broadcast will make it much easier to find lost aircraft. Since the system uses GPS the location is much more precise then just a best estimate of where the plane is. If it goes down they will know the exact location of the crash site and be able to dispatch search and rescue to the location. The time that is saved by going direct instead of searching may save lives. If a plane goes off course before going down it will be even better since the GPS would have tracked it during the entire flight. It will save time and resources not to mention they will most likely be able to locate the aircraft unlike now where it may take months of searching large expanses of ocean and possibly turn up nothing. Now the rescuers must go off of a best guess and estimates both of which are not as accurate. The new system will prevent aircraft from vanishing without a trace since they will always know where the plane is. The debate did come up as recently as a couple years ago after an aircraft disappeared without a trace after veering off course for an as yet unknown reason and it is very likely that it will remain unknown. If that aircraft had been equipped with ADS-B it is very likely that the aircraft would have been found and the reasons behind the crash will become known. The fact that even today air