Air Traffic Control Modernization: FAA Faces Challenges in Managing Ongoing Projects, Sustaining Existing Facilities, and Introducing New Capabilities

This report provides the results of the U.S. Department of Transportation Office of Inspector General's (OIG's) review of the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) major acquisitions. At the request of the Chairman and Ranking Member of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, OIG updated its May 2005 status report on FAA’s major acquisitions and examined how projects are impacted by plans for the Next Generation Air Transportation System (NextGen). OIG's objectives were to examine (1) overall trends affecting FAA’s Facilities and Equipment (F&E) or capital account, (2) recent changes in cost and schedule baselines of FAA’s major acquisition programs, and (3) the effect of NextGen plans on existing projects. OIG's review examined 18 projects valued at $17.5 billion in capital costs. These projects include developing new automated controller tools, acquiring new technologies to prevent accidents on runways and taxiways, and modernizing FAA facilities that manage large segments of airspace over the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. FAA’s modernization effort and plans for NextGen are central issues in the debate about how best to finance FAA as the current tax structure expires. While there is controversy about various financing mechanisms, there is almost universal agreement by stakeholders that significant change is needed to meet the anticipated demand for air travel.

• Record URL:
  • http://www.oig.dot.gov/sites/dot/files/pdfdocs/WEB_ATC_Mod_4-14-08_Final.pdf
• 
• Corporate Authors:

  Department of Transportation

  Office of Inspector General, 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE
  Washington, DC  United States  20590
• Publication Date: 2008-4-14

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: Web
• Edition: Final Report
• Features: Figures; Tables;
• Pagination: 74p

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Air traffic control; Air traffic control facilities; Capital costs; Costs; Equipment; Modernization; Program management; Programming (Planning); Project management; Scheduling; Trend (Statistics)
• Identifier Terms: Next Generation Air Transportation System; U.S. Federal Aviation Administration
• Uncontrolled Terms: Acquisitions
• Subject Areas: Administration and Management; Aviation; Finance; Operations and Traffic Management; Terminals and Facilities;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01100384
• Record Type: Publication
• Report/Paper Numbers: AV-2008-049
• Files: TRIS, USDOT
• Created Date: Jun 3 2008 7:24AM