International aviation officials this week are expected to
endorse universal tracking of airliners, according to people
participating in the process, without resolving the central
question of whether pilots should be able to turn off such
systems.
Prompted by the disappearance of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370,
more than 100 regulators from around the globe meeting in Montreal
this week are expected to urge airlines to embrace real-time
tracking of aircraft regardless of where they fly. Members of the
International Civil Aviation Organization, the U.N. agency that
sets safety standards for civil aviation, will stop short of
mandating changes.
Similar proposals in the past have failed to gain traction
because of industry inertia and cost concerns but this time the
proposals from the agency are being embraced by many airlines and
their main trade association, the International Air Transport
Association, which is developing complementary solutions.
For the short term, the aviation regulators are expected to push
for reliance on existing satellite and aircraft communication
systems--some of which aren't used to their full capabilities--to
provide real-time position information for airliners.
Longer-term plans call for starting a two-year or longer process
to draft world-wide ICAO technical standards for what information
should be provided to the ground as part of position reports, and
how frequently aircraft should transmit such information.
The moves expected to be announced Tuesday also set the stage
for large satellite operators, service providers and equipment
makers, including Inmarsat PLC, Intelsat SA, Rockwell Collins Inc.,
Iridium Communications Inc. and Thales Group SA, to compete for
potentially lucrative business.
"It's a chance for everyone who has a horse in the race to show
up and start maneuvering," said one senior satellite industry
official familiar with the matter.
ICAO staff papers prepared for the meeting highlight public
disbelief in the wake of Flight 370 that "an airplane could simply
disappear" and urge the industry to quickly enhance and expand
in-flight tracking. "Other industries, such as the maritime sector,
already are using technologies that allow tracking of their global
assets," one paper notes.
In addition to tracking planes, some communication links can
instantaneously provide flight data in the event of an unusually
violent maneuver, some other onboard emergency or a crash. Such
alternatives could eliminate the problem posed by more than two
months of fruitless searches for remnants of Flight 370 and its
"black-box" data and voice recorders.
Other potential services being reviewed by the U.N. agency
include automatic satellite messages to alert airline dispatchers
in case pilots fail to promptly contact air-traffic control
facilities as expected; and installation of emergency locaters on
planes that could be activated remotely from the ground under
certain circumstances.
But as in the past, technical and cost considerations threaten
to derail parts of the initiative. Twice before in the past 13
years, the benefits of continuously monitoring aircraft positions
and making onboard communication systems tamper-proof prompted
extensive industrywide debate.
The issues arose after the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks in
the U.S. using passenger jets, as well as the 2009 crash of an Air
France jet in the Atlantic. In both cases, however, industry
inertia and cost concerns stymied the most ambitious proposals for
change.
In early 2003, for example, the Federal Aviation Administration
proposed making it impossible for anyone on board an airliner to
turn off its transponders, used by air-traffic radars to
automatically track location and movement. But four years later,
the agency dropped the security enhancement after opposition from
airlines and others. Critics argued more-secure cockpit doors and
other security upgrades made the transponder modifications
unnecessary.
Since then, pilot groups have objected to tamper-proof
electrical solutions on the grounds that cockpit crews need to
retain maximum flexibility to isolate specific circuits or pull
individual circuit breakers in the event of an in-flight fire.
Airlines also fret over the cost of aircraft-wiring
modifications, though technology developed in the past few years
could provide less-expensive alternatives.
ICAO's current tracking proposals also are embraced by many
airlines and their main trade association, the International Air
Transport Association, which is developing complementary solutions.
Tony Tyler, the organization's chief executive, touched off the
debate last month by calling for speedy adoption of real-time
satellite tracking of airliners. But IATA stopped short of
endorsing tamper-proof signaling systems, and ICAO members aren't
likely to take a firm position on that issue this week.
Potential action by the U.N. body is important because it would
establish a benchmark for all carriers, not just those belonging to
IATA.
A paper presented to the agency by European Union officials, who
have been leading the charge for enhanced tracking and emergency
transmissions, stressed that "future solutions should complement
what is already working today in a consistent and cost-effective
manner."
Meanwhile, satellite-services providers are jockeying for
position. Inmarsat, the U.K.-based company whose network tracked
the digital handshakes or "pings" from Flight 370, has offered
periodic tracking services to airlines free of charge. In addition,
the company will offer "enhanced position reporting" to allow
aircraft to cruise closer to others, and provide live streaming of
flight data and voice recordings.
Some industry projections show that Inmarsat antennas are
installed on more than 6,000 airliners.
By contrast, Aireon LLC, a joint venture between Iridium
Communications and air-traffic control providers from four
countries, appears to be urging a slower phase-in. The venture will
begin launching the first of 72 satellites next year intended to
provide space-based traffic control services and real-time position
tracking. The global system, which won't be fully operational until
2017, could be used for safety monitoring as well.
Don Thoma, Aireon's president and CEO, said in an interview
Monday he doesn't anticipate a winner-take-all system that would
mandate one company's technology or network over another.
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