AIR TRAFFIC CONTROL: CONTINUING DELAYS ANTICIPATED FOR THE ADVANCED AUTOMATION SYSTEM

The General Accounting Office reviewed the Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA's) efforts to develop the Advanced Automation System (AAS). AAS, estimated to cost approximately $5 million, is intended to replace aging air traffic control computer systems with new hardware, software, and controller workstations. In 1988, FAA awarded a $3.6-billion contract to International Business Machines (IBM), Inc., to complete the design and production of AAS. The first key phase of AAS, the initial sector suite system (ISSS), is to replace controller workstations at facilities that control air traffic between airports. GAO's objective was to evaluate whether FAA was effectively managing ISSS in order to minimize program delays. Results, in brief, are as follows: Less than a year after IBM began work on the contract, ISSS implementation had already encountered a 13-month delay because not all requirements issues had been resolved, and FAA and IBM had underestimated the time it would take to develop and test software. However, the revised 13-month schedule does not include sufficient time to resolve requirements issues and allocates little time to resolve problems that may arise during system testing. Consequently, it is likely that ISSS will be delayed even longer. ISSS delays will push back later AAS phases scheduled to replace aging automated systems at terminal radar approach control (TRACON) facilities. This could affect air traffic safety, since large TRACON automated systems have already experienced computer capacity shortfalls resulting in data flickering and disappearing from controllers' screens. Because of the delays in AAS and the limitations of the existing TRACON computer systems, FAA may not have the needed automation capabilities in time to handle the increasing air traffic of the 1990s.

• Supplemental Notes:
  • Report to Congressional Requesters.
• Corporate Authors:

  U.S. General Accounting Office

  441 G Street, NW
  Washington, DC  United States  20548
• Publication Date: 1990-7

Media Info

• Features: Appendices; Tables;
• Pagination: 11 p.

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Advanced automation systems; Air traffic control; Approach control; Automation; Computers; Management; Radar air traffic control; Safety; Terminal air traffic control; Traffic delays
• Identifier Terms: U.S. Federal Aviation Administration
• Uncontrolled Terms: Capacity
• Old TRIS Terms: Initial sector suite system; Terminal radar approach control facilities
• Subject Areas: Administration and Management; Aviation; Highways; Operations and Traffic Management; Safety and Human Factors;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00600589
• Record Type: Publication
• Report/Paper Numbers: GAO/IMTEC-90-63
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Oct 31 1990 12:00AM