October 17, 2015

Mr . John Collins 4317 Old Saybrook Court Charlotte, NC 28211

Dear Mr. Collins :

Th is is in response to your December 15, 2014 letter posted to public D ocket No. FAA

- 20 14

- 1061 petitioning the Federal Aviat ion Administration (FAA) to amend § 91.225 of Title 14, Code of Federal Regulations ( 14 CFR) to allow aircraft operating within 30 nautical miles of an airport listed on A ppendix D, S ection 1 of this part from the surface up to 10,000 feet mean sea level ( MSL ) to operate without Automatic Dependent Su rveillance

- Broadc a st ( ADS

- B ) Out equipment.

You contend that under this rule, it is a high cost to equip low performance aircraft that may
have low economic value

, but are already equipped with “Mode A/C transponder s” and that already operate within the s ubject airspace. You argue that the inability to operate non

- ADS

B equipped aircraft in the airspace would have a negative impact on businesses that service
those aircraft if pilots grounded their aircraft due to costs. You cite the ability of air traffi c control ( ATC ) to use secondary surveillance radar information in a “fused” display to provide
services as a justification for non

- equipage

.

Th e issues you raised were addressed in the comment disposition contained in the ADS

- B
Out Performance Requiremen ts To Support Air Traffic Control (ATC) Service final rule (75
FR 30160 )

. With respect to aircraft that operate within the airspace from surface to 10,000
feet mean seal level ( MSL ) within 30 nautical miles of the airports listed in Appendix B, the FAA sp ecifically stated in the notice of proposed rulemaking that “t his area can experience a high volume of aircraft operations and complex transition from the en route environment to the te rminal environment at the nations' busiest airports. Consequently, we ex pect ADS

- B
Out to result in better surveillance across a larger area, lea ding to better ATC situational

awareness ” (72 FR 56947 and 56958)

. The terminal benefits of NextGen cannot be realized
if all aircraft in the terminal airspace are not appropriatel y equipped.

The FAA anticipates that investment in ADS

- B Out equipage will allow easier access to regulated airspace

. Furthermore , any costs must be balanced against the foundation this capability provides in moving toward the NextGen Infrastructure and benefits from its overall

usage.2

T he FAA will provide ATC separation services for aircraft meeting the minimum ADS

- B

required performance parameters (NAC p , NAC v , NIC, SDA, and SIL) for airspace subject to
this rule. If, during flight, an individual ai rcraft does not meet the minimum ADS

– B required performance parameters, or in cases where GPS satellite geometries or signal disruptions affect the performance of otherwise compliant equipment, then ATC may provide separation services using the backup (for example, radar where available). If the ADS

- B ground infrastructure or a particular broadcast link is out of service, or a sufficient number of aircraft cannot meet the minimum required performance for a given airspace and controller workload
is adversel y impacted, ATC will use the backup system to provide ATC separation services for all aircraft in that airspace. (See 75 FR 30182 .) The FAA explained that this capability is intended for use by ATC as a “backup

, ” and therefore its use is limited, especia lly due to a planned 50 percent reduction in secondary surveillance radars (SSRs), and is not intended for
use with a large volume of non

- ADS

- B Out equipped aircraft.

The FAA has determined that the improved accuracy and update rate afforded by ADS

- B is a critical segment of the NextGen infrastructure and capabilities in all airspace , and offer s the opportunity to make the system more efficient. In addition, the rule contains provisions for permitting non

- equipped aircraft to enter affected airspace.

Fo r the reasons above, we are unable to consider and thereby deny your petition for rulemaking in accordance with 14 CFR § 11.73.

Sincerely,

/s/ Jodi S. McCarthy Director, Airspace Services Air Traffic Organization