Sean Duffy carriage secretary has announced plans to strengthen the air traffic control system with the latest technology over the next four years, while using artificial intelligence (AI) to identify “hot spots” where close meetings between aircraft often appear.
The announcement was followed by an update of a collision investigation near Ronald Reagan Washington’s National Airport National Airport in Arlington, VirginiaWhen the US Army helicopter and the US passenger jet relating to US airlines collided across the Potomac River on January 29.
“We are here because 67 souls lost their lives on January 29,” Duffy told reporters on Tuesday, noting that the National Transport Safety Committee (NTSB) discovered its preliminary findings in the collision earlier during the day.
The discoveries have stated that in the last 2.5 years there were 85 near the miss or Close calls to Reagan National. Close calls were identified as incidents when there are less than 200 feet of vertical separation and 1,500 feet of lateral separation between the aircraft.
Rijeka Potomac and Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport in Arlington, Va., January 30th. (Leigh Green for Fox News Digital)
Looking shocked at the findings, Duffy asked that the Federal Air Force Directorate (FAA) did not know about the “hot point”, where they often happen nearby.
“We are close to the miss, and if we do not change, we will lose our lives,” he said. “This is not done. He may have focused on something other than security, but in this administration we focus on safety.”
FAA has arranged AI tools for sifting data and finding additional hot points in the US airspace near the airports to find similar situations in relation to what happened in Reagan National.
Sean Duffy carriage secretary holds a briefing on a deadly aircraft accident on January 29. Near Ronald Reagan Washington’s national airport. (Fox News/Pool)
Once hot points are identified, Duffy’s team will implement changes to reduce close encounters between the aircraft.
Duffy also said that he learned that air traffic control systems are 25 to 30 years of age, and some of them even use floppy disks as if they were stuck in the 1980s.
While the system is old -fashioned, the secretary emphasized that it is safe. Despite being safe, Duffy said it should be upgraded.
“That should happen four years ago, 10 years ago, 15 years ago,” he said. “But we are currently at a point where we can actually do it. And we can do it quickly.”
Sean Duffy carriage secretary holds a briefing on a deadly aircraft accident on January 29. Near Ronald Reagan Washington’s National Airport, which killed 67 people. (Fox News/Pool)
Duffy said the task could take up to four years.
The job involves bringing in a completely new aircraft management system, switching from copper wires to a combination of fiber, wireless and satellite systems.
The current radar system from the 1970s or early 1980s operated, but Duffy wants to put top radar and terminals with real screens and the best technology.
Stanted Airport Control Tower in the UK (NATS UK)
“We will establish a runway safety resources – a new technology that will allow our air traffic controllers not to use the tower to see where the aircraft are located, but to actually have sensors for radar airports at our airports that will allow air traffic controllers to see where aircraft are,” he said.
“We have heard a lot of new stories about just the missing of the asphalt miss. How do you mitigate it? They take away the two -way and give them technology so they can see on their screens on which every aircraft is located.
“Doing that, we will greatly improve our safety in the system.”
Technology, on the other hand, is not cheap, which the secretary admitted.
In an environment in which the Ministry of Government Efficiency seeks ways to reduce the costs and savings of money, Duffy explained that an upgrade on behalf of safety is worth investment.
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Over the next few weeks, Duffy said, plans to present his plan to the congress and download their feedback.
Once he goes through feedback, Duffy said he was planning to return to Congress and ask for money in advance to accelerate the process of upgrading the air traffic control system.
“It’s not like FAA didn’t want to make upgrades,” he said. “It lasts too long. So, they have to give us money. We will later bring out our plan to do so quickly.”
