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DALLAS — The President of the United States has stated he plans to discuss legislation with congressional leaders to create a new U.S. air traffic control (ATC) system after the fatal crash at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA).
The President called the current technology “obsolete” and said his administration would create a new computerized system for control towers. The first step is passing a bill to provide a better control system. He also criticized the US’s past efforts to renovate an old system and suggested that a more straightforward approach could be more cost-effective.
Moreover, POTUS blames the DCA accident on the nation's air controller systems, suggesting they could have prevented the Army Black Hawk helicopter crash that killed 67 people last week. Specifically, he blamed diversity, equity, and inclusion hiring practices at the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and pilot error.
Of course, only the results of the NTSB investigation will bear any truth about the causes of the fatal crash over the Potomac River. Still, and putting aside all politics, a more significant truth remains: The U.S. air transport system has needed a major technology overhaul for decades.
The current Secretary of Transportation, Sean Duffy, is working with billionaire Elon Musk’s government efficiency effort to modernize the US aviation system; the SpaceX CEO aims to make rapid safety upgrades to the ATC system.
Pushback has ensued regarding Musk's involvement. “Secretary Duffy must ensure Mr. Musk isn’t part of the FAA air transportation system due to a clear conflict of interest,” said Maria Cantwell, the top Democrat on the Senate Aviation Committee and current U.S. Senator for the State of Washington, the location of Boeing’s commercial aircraft manufacturing hub.
The U.S. Air Traffic Control System
In a December 2024 report, the US Government Accountability Office warned that the FAA urgently needs to update its air-traffic controller systems, as 76% were either unsustainable or potentially unsustainable, per a 2023 risk assessment.
Air Traffic Control in the U.S. uses several sophisticated systems to manage air traffic effectively and safely. These include:
- Airport Surveillance Radar (ASR) and Air Route Surveillance Radar (ARSR) for monitoring aircraft positions.
- Air Traffic Control Radar Beacon System (ATCRBS), also known as secondary surveillance radar, which consists of an interrogator, transponder, and ground-based receiver.
- Airport Surface Detection Equipment (ASDE-X) and Airport Surface Surveillance Capability (ASSC) for monitoring aircraft and vehicles on airport surfaces3.
- Center TRACON Automation System (CTAS), a suite of decision support tools developed by NASA, which includes:
- Traffic Management Advisor (TMA)
- Passive Final Approach Spacing Tool (pFAST)
- Direct-To (D2)
- En Route Descent Advisor (EDA)
- User Request Evaluation Tool (URET) for en-route controllers at Air Route Traffic Control Centers (ARTCCs).
- Electronic Flight Strip System (e-strip) to replace paper strips and manage flight data online.
- Screen Content Recording systems for capturing and replaying ATCO screen content for investigations and analysis.
The operating systems used by ATC computers have been transitioning from UNIX-based systems to Windows-based systems in recent years.
Failures in the System
In 2023, the FAA stated that its thirty-year-old NOTAM software was at least six years away from an upgrade. The admission came after a Notices to Air Missions (NOTAM) database malfunction that led to the FAA implementing the first countrywide suspension of air traffic in more than 20 years.
Two years ago, on January 11, the skies over the U.S. fell quiet. The lead-up to the airspace closure raised inevitable questions about why this had happened, and media outlets were confronted with an acronym not often heard before: NOTAM.
The acronym refers to 'Notice to Air Missions,' but it has historically been known as 'Notice to Airmen.' Essentially, it's a system to pass on flight safety-related information to pilots about temporary changes. Examples could be a closed taxiway or a ground-based navigation aid taken offline for maintenance.
The NOTAM system also contains crucial information, such as potential hazards and runway or airspace closures, among many others.
Because of that, it is unsafe for aircraft to take off from their origin airport without retrieving NOTAM information, as crew and passengers could be exposing themselves to potential risks and danger without knowing it.
The FAA requires flight crews to review NOTAMs before every flight for security reasons. Without entry to this data, an aircraft cannot legally depart—hence the suspension.
Regarding the 2023 NOTAM outage, the FAA said that "employees who did not follow protocols" were to blame for the computer system breakdown that culminated in the delay that resulted in thousands of airline holds and cancellations. A veiled admittance to hiring failures?
The then Transportation Secretary, Pete Buttigieg, spoke with top FAA executives numerous times and stressed that he wanted the NOTAM database upgraded far more quickly than the FAA planned to do so.
That year, the aviation administration sought US$29.4 million for its Aeronautical Information Management Program, which comprises the NOTAM system, in its budget forecast. The system upgrade needed to "remove the deteriorating older hardware that presently performs that operation in the national airspace system," said the FAA.
Whether the data file was corrupted by workers "who did not follow procedures" or there was an underlying glitch with the system itself, the FAA began its push for the federal funding reauthorization process with the NOTAM failure as a significant sticking point.
As this was happening on the Hill, U.S. airlines raised concerns about a lack of funding, manpower, and antiquated FAA technology. They also received their share of government blame for their schedule breakdowns.
The Industry Reacts
The FAA's budget allocated before the 2023 NOTAM outage included millions of dollars for "inclusive" language and "environmental justice." It did not, however, include funding for critical system upgrades. This infuriated the nation’s pilots.
JP Tristani, an aviation specialist, veteran, and pilot, told Fox News at the time that it was "ridiculous" that the DoT or the FAA would invest in such "drivel," adding that Pete Buttigieg was "liable and accountable for the management of the FAA."
Sal Lagonia, a lawyer for the aviation industry, sided with Tristani. According to Lagonia, the agency's spending on trivial matters "does nothing to help these technological errors."
"Just take a look at how NOTAM has changed. For many years, it has been known as ‘Notices to Airmen.’ The government recently put a lot of time, money, and effort into renaming the program ‘Notices to Air Missions’ instead of the term ‘Men.’ "The names of documents had to be modified, etc. Spend that time and money improving the safety-related systems that make and maintain air travel,” he added.
The FAA's investments, according to Tristani, had "nothing to do with the highest standards, training, and performance criteria required in this highly sophisticated profession," a sentiment that two years echoes throughout the halls of the White House.
And while the system failures go far back before any DEI hiring initiatives, I agree that the focus should be on safety first, better state-of-the-art systems, and hiring qualified personnel foremost. "My biggest concerns are the safety of my aircraft, my training, and that of my copilot,' added Tristani.
As Lagonia put it, "Technology is wonderful—until it breaks. Pilots have backup plans for how they organize their flights. Organizations must act similarly by performing backup after backup."
The NOTAM system went down again last Saturday, February 1, 2025, prompting the FAA to set up a hotline to manually send notices every 30 minutes with updates to airlines. The system was restored on Sunday morning.
A Plethora of Problems
Whilst the FAA admitted the January 2023 outage was linked to a “database problem,” it spotlighted a system plagued with inadequacies.
Two years ago, Airways aviation author and pilot Chris Smith said, “Underpinning the global NOTAM system is an elderly communications system that cannot transmit graphical information and only displays block capital text.”
“Adding salt to the already painful wound” is a massive increase in the volume of NOTAM data created in recent decades. “Frustratingly, a significant proportion of such data is of little interest to routine operations.”
These factors and others have created a NOTAM system that requires significant reform. The same goes for the nation's ATC systems and the FAA's staffing protocols. It's time for an upgrade on all fronts. If only we could stop the blame game.
Is aviation the safest form of travel? Yes. Will the new administration come through and modernize the ATC systems that run the busiest skies in the world? They have until the end of the decade to do so.
Recent System Upgrades
It is important to note that the FAA has undertaken a major modernization initiative—commonly referred to as NextGen—which overhauls nearly every aspect of air traffic management. Key components of today’s system include:
- En Route Automation Modernization (ERAM): Used at the 20 Air Route Traffic Control Centers, ERAM replaced the old host computer system and now supports en route traffic control with increased surveillance accuracy, better conflict detection, and improved information sharing.
- Standard Terminal Automation Replacement System (STARS): At many terminal facilities (such as TRACONs and some control towers), STARS has replaced older terminal automation systems to provide enhanced tracking, sequencing, and safety features during arrivals and departures.
- NextGen-Enabled Technologies: Modern surveillance and communication methods such as Automatic Dependent Surveillance–Broadcast (ADS‑B) and digital data communications (Data Comm) are now integral. These technologies, together with improvements in navigation and airspace management, support trajectory‐based operations and other advanced procedures designed to safely handle the growing volume and complexity of U.S. air traffic.
As per a February 3, 2025 update, the FAA says it has integrated NextGen capabilities throughout the U.S. National Airspace System (NAS). These new digital communications "enable a more efficient and timely message exchange between air traffic controllers and pilots."
Learn more about the key programs and technologies that define NextGen here.
Pick up a copy of the June 2023 edition of Airways magazine to learn more about why the NOTAM system is not fit for purpose and, more importantly, what’s was being done to improve it.
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Featured image: DCA
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