United States Government Accountability Office

Washington, DC 20548 

March 10, 2009 

The Honorable Jerry Costello 

Chairman 

Subcommittee on Aviation 

Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure 

House of Representatives 

Subject: Responses to Questions for the Record: February 11, 2009, Hearing on the 

FAA Reauthorization Act of 2009

Dear Mr. Chairman: 

This letter responds to your request that we address questions submitted for the record 

related to the February 11, 2009, hearing entitled FAA Reauthorization Act of 2009. Our 

attached responses to these questions are based on updates to our previous work (see 

enc. 2) and our knowledge of the areas addressed by the questions. 

As agreed with your office, unless you publicly announce its contents earlier, we plan no 

further distribution of this report until 10 days after its issuance date. At that time, we 

will send copies of this report to the Acting Administrator, Federal Aviation 

Administration. We will make copies available to others on request. The report will also 

be available on GAO’s Web site at www.gao.gov. 

If you have any questions or would like to discuss the responses, please contact me at 

(202) 512-2834 or dillinghamg@gao.gov. 

Sincerely yours, 

Gerald L. Dillingham, Ph.D. 

Director 

Physical Infrastructure Issues 

Enclosures 

GAO-09-467R FAA Reauthorization Act of 2009 
Enclosure I 

February 11, 2009 

Subcommittee on Aviation 

Hearing on 

FAA Reauthorization Act of 2009 

Questions for the Record 

To: 

Dr. Gerald Dillingham

Director, Physical Infrastructure Issues

U.S. Government Accountability Office 

1. Dr. Dillingham, in your written testimony you state that the FAA will need to 

work with the stakeholders to explore a range of potential options available 

to provide incentives to purchase equipment and to suppliers to develop that 

equipment. You further state that these options could include some 

combination of mandated deadlines, operational credits, or equipment 

investment credits that financially support equipment implementation for a 

limited initial set of aircraft operators. Please define what you mean by 

“operational credits” or “equipment investment credits” and explain how 

they might be used. 

RESPONSE: The next generation air transportation system (NextGen) includes the 

policies, procedures, and equipment that will allow satellite-based navigation in the 

national airspace system. However, this system’s ability to meet forecasted traffic 

volumes also depends on aircraft being equipped to take advantage of NextGen 

capabilities. Purchase incentives could encourage carriers to equip their aircraft as soon 

as the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) makes the procedures for operating in a 

NextGen environment available. Traditionally, FAA mandates the equipage of aircraft 

and provides several years for operators to comply. For a variety of reasons, some 

operators do not equip until the deadline for equipping is near. FAA has proposed an 

option to incentivize early equipage. It is referred to as “best-equipped, best-served.” 

Under this option, FAA would offer those aircraft operators who choose to equip their 

aircraft as soon as possible with various operational benefits, such as preferred airspace, 

routings, or runway access. 

Another option, conceptualized by a Boeing air traffic management expert, is a type of 

“reverse auction” in which federal investment tax credits would be combined with 

operational benefits. Under this option, the carriers would bid for a level of investment 

credits in exchange for equipping a particular number of aircraft within a specified early 

time frame. The value of the investment credit would decrease as the auction proceeded. 

Those aircraft that were equipped would then operate under the best-equipped, bestserved option. The Boeing expert has acknowledged that the total resources needed to 

pay for such tax credits would be quite large if the credits were extended to all carriers. 

However, he acknowledged that if the tax credit were extended only to a “critical mass” 

of carriers—for example, the first third of the carriers—the costs would be about $750 

million annually. He further stated that if the auction drove down the price by a third, 

the costs could be about $500 million a year. But these costs would be over and above 

what FAA’s Air Traffic Organization (ATO) would already be spending on its own 

2 GAO-09-467R FAA Reauthorization Act of 2009 
Enclosure I 

equipment, facilities, and training. In any case, the proposal could only be implemented if 

Congress were to find some additional large source of funding for the tax credits. 

2. Dr. Dillingham, in your written testimony you state that the FAA has entered 

into agreements with private sector firms to conduct NextGen technology 

demonstration projects. Please provide the Subcommittee with a list of these 

projects. 

RESPONSE: FAA’s NextGen demonstration projects for fiscal year 2009 are listed in the 

following table. Some projects are in the early planning stages and the partners have not 

been selected yet; other projects continue from previous years. 

Project Description Location Partners

Surface Traffic 

Management 

Provide situational awareness information to 

and data exchange among airport 

stakeholders using technology such as 

Airport Surface Detection Equipment-Model 

X (ASDE-X) to support new decision support

tools. 

Memphis, John F.

Kennedy, and 

Orlando airports 

Airport authorities, 

FedEx, and Northwest 

Airlines 

Surface 

Conformance 

Monitoring 

Begin to link the movement of aircraft on the 

surface between air traffic control and future 

cockpit moving map displays.

TBD TBD

Arrival Management 

(Continuous Descent 

Arrivals, Tailored 

Arrivals) 

Use integrated automation tools and data 

communication to provide a cleared

trajectory path, which is transferred to the 

aircraft and flown by the flight management 

system. 

Miami, Charlotte, 

Atlanta, Los 

Angeles, 

Charleston (SC), 

and San Francisco 

airports 

NASA Ames, Boeing, 

Sensis, American 

Airlines, Delta Airlines, 

U.S. Air Force Mobility 

Command, Georgia 

Institute of Technology, 

MITRE Corporation, 

and foreign carriers 

Three-dimensional 

Path Arrival 

Management (3DPAM) 

Will provide, at high-density airports, a 

means to achieve accurate, predictable, and 

fuel-efficient routes, which are designed to 

decrease controller and pilot workload, as 

well as decrease adverse environmental 

impacts (emissions and noise) while 

potentially enhancing airport throughput. 

Denver NASA Ames, Boeing 

Ground Based 

Augmentation 

System (GBAS) 

Initially define and test Area Navigation/ 

Required Navigation Performance 

(RNAV/RNP) approach routes into and out 

of Teterborough, and separate Teterborough

traffic from Newark's traffic. Operational 

demonstrations will be conducted using 

satellite navigation (SATNAV) technology in 

a complex environment to assist in 

identifying and implementing RNAV/RNP 

operations for performance-based 

navigation. 

Newark and 

Teterborough 

airports 

NY Port Authority and 

Continental Airlines 

Oceanic Trajectory 

Based Operations 

(AIRE and ASPIRE) 

Demonstrate potential benefits for oceanic 

trajectory optimization in terms of fuel 

savings and emissions reductions. 

Atlantic and Pacific 

Oceans (beginning 

in fiscal year 2010) 

operational areas 

Boeing; CSSI, Inc.; 

MITRE Corporation; 

American Airlines; 

foreign carriers and 

European partners 

3 GAO-09-467R FAA Reauthorization Act of 2009 
Enclosure I 

Project Description Location Partners

International Flight 

Data Object (IFDO)

Conduct research, development, and 

laboratory proof of concept of IFDO

exchange using collaborative flight planning 

capability for oceanic and en route air traffic 

services. 

Daytona Beach 

airport 

Lockheed Martin, 

Computer Sciences 

Corporation, Boeing, 

Harris, Adacel, and 

Nav Portugal 

Four-Dimensional 

Flight Management 

System 

One of a series of joint demonstration 

projects aimed at promoting global air traffic 

control leadership and collaboration with

research and development activities in other 

countries. 

TBD TBD

Unmanned Aircraft 

Systems (UAS) 

Examine potential for widespread integration

of UASs into the future NextGen 

environment. 

Kennedy Space 

Center 

AAI Corporation, 

General Atomics, and 

GE 

Network Enabled 

Operations Program 

Develop and leverage network information

technology to provide an agile, highly 

connective network for net-centric shared

situational awareness. 

TBD TBD

Staffed NextGen 

Towers 

Provide surface and tower services without 

the requirement for direct visual observation

by air traffic control personnel from an 

airport tower cab. 

TBD TBD

Weather Integrated 

into Traffic 

Management 

Advisor and En 

Route Automation 

Modernization

Research, evaluate, and demonstrate 

NextGen concepts, procedures, 

technologies, and capabilities. Initial 

demonstration to show the incorporation of 

convective weather data into the Traffic 

Management Advisor tool to better maintain 

airport arrival rates. 

Daytona Beach 

airport 

Embry-Riddle 

Aeronautical

University; Lockheed 

Martin; Computer 

Sciences Corporation; 

ENSCO, Inc. 

Source: GAO analysis of FAA documents.

3. Dr. Dillingham, GAO recently took the FAA’s air traffic control 

modernization program off its “high risk” list. With regard to this 

distinction, please provide me with answers to the following questions: 

a. Does GAO draw a distinction between the FAA’s ATC modernization 

program and the Next Generation Air Transportation System (NextGen) 

effort? If so, please explain the distinction? 

RESPONSE: Yes, GAO draws a distinction between air traffic control (ATC) 

modernization and NextGen. The ATC modernization program, which was placed on 

GAO’s High-Risk List in 1995, focused primarily on the acquisition of ATC systems. Key 

projects within that modernization program experienced cost overruns, schedule delays, 

and performance shortfalls that affected FAA’s ability to deliver systems as promised. 

GAO removed FAA’s ATC modernization program from the High-Risk List in January 

20091

 because of the agency’s progress in addressing most of the root causes of its past 

problems and its commitment to sustaining progress in the future. 

NextGen is a total transformation of the air transportation system. NextGen represents a 

paradigm shift from air traffic control to air traffic management. It is a shift from groundbased radar control of aircraft to a satellite-based, aircraft-centric national airspace 

system. NextGen includes the acquisition of some new systems, but it also involves the 

 1

GAO, High-Risk Series: An Update, GAO-09-271 (Washington, D.C.: January 2009).

4 GAO-09-467R FAA Reauthorization Act of 2009 
Enclosure I 

integration of “legacy systems” with those new systems, along with the development of 

policies and procedures that will enable a safe expansion of system capacity and 

efficiency to meet projected traffic demands by 2025. For example, the implementation 

of Automatic Dependence Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) technology is designed to 

enable greater use of existing performance-based navigation techniques, which in turn 

would lead to a greater number of more efficient, more environmentally-friendly aircraft 

operations. 

NextGen also differs from ATC modernization in its organizational structure. The 

implementation of NextGen extends beyond FAA’s ATO, which was almost solely 

responsible for ATC modernization, to other lines of business such as Airports, Safety, 

and Environment. Additionally, NextGen includes cooperative relations among FAA; the 

Departments of Transportation, Defense, Homeland Security, and Commerce; the 

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA); and the White House Office of 

Science and Technology Policy. It also includes nonfederal aviation stakeholders, such 

as aircraft and avionics manufacturers, air carriers, airports, and aircraft operators. 

b. Does GAO deem NextGen to be a “high risk” effort? If not, why not? 

RESPONSE: While NextGen is a high-risk effort because of its dollar cost and

complexity, it is not currently on GAO’s High-Risk List. NextGen has only recently begun 

to move from the planning stage to implementation. As we noted in our 2009 High-Risk 

update, we plan to closely monitor FAA’s efforts to implement NextGen as the program 

continues to mature. At the request of this Subcommittee, we will be monitoring

NextGen’s implementation and regularly updating the Subcommittee. Therefore, 

NextGen will be receiving the scrutiny that any high-risk program would receive and will 

be evaluated against criteria set out in our guidance document Determining 

Performance and Accountability Challenges and High Risks.2

4. GAO has previously reported that FAA briefed the industry on preliminary 

near-term costs for NextGen in April 2006 and this preliminary estimate 

provided approximately $1 billion more through 2012 than FAA’s most 

recent 5 year capital investment plan (CIP) for FAA facilities and 

equipment. If Congress were to provide the level of funding outlined in the 

FAA’s preliminary estimate, approximately $1 billion more through 2012 

than the most recent CIP, would it help to accelerate the development and 

deployment of NextGen? 

RESPONSE: Yes, if Congress provided FAA with additional funding, that funding could 

be applied to a variety of projects and initiatives that would help to accelerate the 

development and deployment of NextGen. We discuss the specific research, 

development, and deployment that could be undertaken should Congress provide 

additional funding in my response to a question below. 

 2

GAO, Determining Performance and Accountability Challenges and High Risks, GAO-01-159SP

(Washington, D.C.: November 2000). 

5 GAO-09-467R FAA Reauthorization Act of 2009 
Enclosure I 

5. Would additional Facilities and Equipment funding help to bridge the socalled NASA gap? In other words, could it be used for the type of 

intermediate development and demonstration projects that NASA would no 

longer fund? 

RESPONSE: In the past, NASA conducted a significant portion of aeronautics research 

and development but the funding for those efforts declined when NASA’s aeronautical 

research portfolio was restructured to focus more on fundamental research. Meanwhile, 

budget requests for FAA’s NextGen-related research and development have increased in 

recent years to address the gap that resulted from both the previous administration’s 

cuts to NASA’s aeronautics research funding and the expanded requirements of 

NextGen. Nonetheless, our work has identified areas that would benefit from additional 

research and development, such as the environmental impact of aviation, human factors, 

and other areas that are discussed further in my response to the question below. 

Additional research and development in such areas is critical for the timely 

implementation of NextGen and could benefit from additional funding, should Congress 

decide to provide it. 

6. Would you cite additional research, development and deployment that could 

be done with funding over and above FAA’s capital investment plan funding 

levels? 

RESPONSE: While we have not evaluated the full merits of providing additional funding, 

additional research, development, and deployment could be undertaken or accelerated in 

several areas with funding over and above the level provided in FAA’s 2009 through 2013 

CIP. Through our work, we found two closely related areas that are critical and timesensitive for the implementation of NextGen and could be candidates for increased 

funding—avionics development and aircraft equipage. Additional support in these areas 

could accelerate the transition to satellite-based navigation, which requires the 

commercial fleet to be equipped with advanced avionics. This transition would allow 

FAA to pursue the elimination of costly ground-based navigation aids; the transition to 

data link; and the standardization of future aircraft capabilities such as flight 

management systems, traffic collision avoidance systems, and modular avionics. 

The development and deployment of NextGen will require a series of incremental 

changes that must be demonstrated and tested to help ensure that they do not degrade 

the safety of current systems. Developing the evidence for regulatory bodies and for the 

public that these incremental changes are safe will be time-consuming, costly, and 

difficult. For example, additional development funding could help with the testing of a 

system in which pilots and air traffic controllers share in decisions about the aircraft’s 

flight path. Such a system would increase the level of safety assurance for en route and 

terminal automation and support the acquisition of air-to-ground data communications 

to support trajectory negotiation. 

Our research has shown that human factors is another area that could benefit from 

additional funding. As we have previously reported, one of the principal changes under 

NextGen will be a transformation from air traffic control to air traffic management. This 

6 GAO-09-467R FAA Reauthorization Act of 2009 
Enclosure I 

will mean new roles for all participants in the system, including air traffic controllers and 

pilots. Additional funding could accelerate human factors research and training

initiatives that are central to the success of NextGen, such as initiatives defining the 

relative responsibilities of aircraft personnel and ground controllers, and modernizing 

controller training through the use of advanced simulation and intelligent tutoring tools. 

According to FAA officials we interviewed, research and development for advanced 

concepts and applications could also be strengthened and accelerated in the area of 

airborne applications. This research could include spacing and merging approaches, 

including optimizing the spacing of aircraft that are in flight, allowing for closely spaced 

parallel approaches and reduced separation standards, and addressing wake turbulence. 

Additional funding could allow for limited field trials to refine operational and system 

requirements, and work could be done to integrate unmanned aerial systems into the 

national airspace system. Establishing supporting processes for rulemaking and software 

certification could also accelerate the removal of potential bottlenecks to implementing 

NextGen. 

7 GAO-09-467R FAA Reauthorization Act of 2009 
Enclosure II 

Related GAO Products 

Next Generation Air Transportation System: Status of Systems Acquisition and 

the Transition to the Next Generation Air Transportation System. GAO-08-1078. 

Washington, D.C.: September 11, 2008. 

Next Generation Air Transportation System: Status of Key Issues Associated 

with the Transition to NextGen. GAO-08-1154T. Washington, D.C.: September 11, 

2008. 

Responses to Questions for the Record; Hearing on the Future of Air Traffic 

Control Modernization. GAO-07-928R. Washington, D.C.: May 30, 2007. 

Responses to Questions for the Record; Hearing on JPDO and the Next 

Generation Air Transportation System: Status and Issues. GAO-07-918R. 

Washington, D.C.: May 29, 2007. 

Next Generation Air Transportation System: Progress and Challenges Associated 

with the Transformation of the National Airspace System. GAO-07-25. 

Washington, D.C.: November 13, 2006. 

(540187) 

8 GAO-09-467R FAA Reauthorization Act of 2009 
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