For Release: Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Contact: David Gillies: 202-225-5661

AVIATION SUBCOMMITTEE REVIEWS RTCA NEXTGEN MID-TERM IMPLEMENTATION REPORT

WASHINGTON - The House Subcommittee on Aviation today held another in a series of hearings on the development and implementation of the Next Generation Air Transportation System (NextGen). In January of this year, several Federal Aviation Administrtion (FAA) offices involved with NextGen asked RTCA, Inc., to convene a government-industry NextGen Mid-Term Implementation Task Force to forge an aviation community consensus on NextGen operational improvements to be implemented between now and 2018, maximizing NextGen benefits in the near-term and developing a business case for industry investment. The Task Force issued its report in September.

“When Transportation Secretary LaHood took office, I told him I thought his top two priorities should be resolving the contract situation with our air traffic controllers and moving the NextGen process forward,” said Aviation Subcommittee Chairman Jerry Costello (D-IL). “The NATCA contract has been completed, and the RTCA report is a great start on really taking control and driving the NextGen process. The report raises many issues that need to be addressed, but it represents a real collaboration among the stakeholders to not just design the system, but make it operational.”

The Subcommittee heard from a government panel that included witnesses from the RTCA, the FAA, the Government Accountability Office, the Department of Transportation Inspector General and the MITRE Corporation. A focus of questions was FAA’s structure regarding NextGen, and whether it can sufficiently coordinate its NextGen activities.

The second panel was comprised of other stakeholders, including the Air Transport Association, the General Aviation Manufacturers Association, the National Air Traffic Controllers Association, the Aerospace Industries Association and the National Business Aviation Association. One of the compelling factors of the RTCA report is that its recommendations were made in consultation with industry and backed by industry commitments. Discussion focused on the need to make sure that NextGen technologies make real improvements in efficiency to reduce congestion and save fuel. Without this, industry will be less inclined to make necessary investments in new equipment.

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