27 OctADS-B speeds search-and-rescue efforts
Passionate.
That one word describes so many of our customers. They are passionate about flying. The time they spend in the air is exhilarating, challenging and relaxing.
This is a subject most pilots would rather avoid. But it’s a fact. The spouses, parents and children of pilots don’t always share their enthusiasm. These family members understand why their most-beloved pilot loves to fly. But there is a lurking fear that someday, something might go wrong.
At FreeFlight, we embrace the air. And our passion is helping to keep our customers safe. That’s one of the reasons we are so enthusiastic about NextGen air traffic control systems, specifically ADS-B.
Right now, too many small aircraft and helicopters that are forced down from flight are left without the immediate help they need. When a small plane or helicopter goes down in a remote area, search-and-rescue efforts may not reach the pilot for hours, days or weeks. A surviving flier or passenger in need of medical attention doesn’t get critical help, and what was an accident turns into a disaster. (In fact, the FAA has never found three planes lost all the way back in 2009.)
Traditional GPS systems provide position data, but not with the frequency needed for successful search-and-rescue efforts. Also, with older systems, position information comes from radar, which is less accurate, has spottier coverage, and in older aircraft provides no altitude data. In contrast, ADS-B is accurate to within three-tenths of a mile and transmits GPS coordinates to the FAA at the rate of one time per second. The higher update rate and better precision of ADS-B provides the FAA with historical location information, as well as a solid capability to predict where a plane landed. This information can be instantly reported to search-and-rescue teams.
Many times, a plane equipped with ADS-B can be pinpointed exactly. And even if that’s not the case, the search radius is relatively small, making quicker rescue a reality.
This possibility should be of particular interest to pilots who fly in the Gulf Coast region. Traditional radar coverage is not available in this area, so when a plane experiences trouble, air traffic controllers have very little information to offer a search-and-rescue team. ADS-B can pinpoint a plane or helicopter in the Gulf region just effectively as it can on land.
ADS-B may be a new technology, but it’s one the FAA has embraced as the next generation of air traffic control. In other words, ADS-B is here to stay. It won’t become obsolete. And if you ever need help after an accident, with ADS-B, neither will you.
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