ATC
User consensus on ADS-B remains elusive
When the FAA called in March for public comment on its notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) on ADS-B equipage, it was with the understanding that there was

When the FAA called in March for public comment on its notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) on ADS-B equipage, it was with the understanding that there was wide user community acceptance of the system as the vital stepping stone to modernizing the National Airspace System. Everyone appeared to agree that ADS-B would be an essential element in the agency’s NextGen project.

Ninety days later, at the close of the comment period, the agency had received several hundred comments from across the user spectrum. The common theme was “No, thanks.” And the responses didn’t coalesce around one or two critical issues that the agency could negotiate with the users. Rather, the objections were as diverse as the particular interests of the group making them, from private pilots to airframe manufacturers to major airlines.