Another Boeing Boondoggle Creates Potential Hazard In Skies Over Los Angeles

Larry Dighera wrote:

Another Boeing Boondoggle Creates Potential Hazard In Skies Over Los
Angeles

Call me Chicken Little, but....

I take issue with this quote from the following article:

"The Metroplex system relies on sophisticated automation and global
positioning satellites that will let controllers and pilots know
exactly where aircraft are at all times instead of waiting every nine
to 12 seconds for radar signals to bounce back."

In fact, controllers will not KNOW the correct position of aircraft at
all. ATC will know the position each aircraft reports via the GPS-based
ADS/B system. That's significantly less certain than the empirical
evidence provided by physically bouncing a radio signal off the aircraft,
as it has been demonstrated that weak satellite signals can be overridden
with more powerful terrestrial-based radio transmitters, and satellites
are vulnerable to solar
disturbances such as Solar Mass Ejections. It also opens the specter of
ATC spoofing and the hazards to national security that potentially poses.

Further, with all the aircraft in the very congested Los Angeles skies
operating at reduced separation standard distances, what ATC procedure has
been SHOWN to be safe when the satellite link suddenly fails and all those
airborne passengers suddenly find themselves in much closer proximity to
each other than
has ever happened before? Surly, radar will be a fall-back safety net, so
there is no public financial incentive to purchase, deploy, train, and
operate
such a satellite-based ATC system. It's inherently more hazardous due to
its
reduced separation minimums. I would speculate that it only benefits the
airline industry and primarily contractor(s) installing Metroplex at the
expense of the tax payer, and paves the way for a reduction in the ATC
controller workforce due to increased computerized automation. If the
controller workforce is reduced, who will manually control the increased
traffic density of marginally separated flights when the system goes down?

Who the hell is in charge here, the profiteers or those charged with
keeping the skies safe?

It also relies on constant reliable communication between airplanes and
ground, ground and airplanes, and airplanes to airplanes.
That is 1) An incredible amount of bandwidth, and 2) Not likely - there's
hardware involved - hardware _will_ fail.

It may be a noce to have, but there needs to be a backup that works with
non-cooperating aircraft.
..
--
Pete Stickney
Always remember to close all parentheses.
We're not paying to air-condition the entire paragraph.