Measured Impact of ADS-B In Applications on General Aviation and Air Taxi Accident Rates

Abstract

While General Aviation (GA) and Air Taxi accident rates have been declining over time, the remaining accidents still result in a substantial loss of life and property. One way the FAA is addressing GA and Air Taxi safety is through the Surveillance and Broadcast Services (SBS) program. SBS uses satellite-enabled technology known as Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) to provide applications that use traffic and weather information received in the cockpit on the ADS-B frequency (ADS-B In). This document describes current SBS-enabled cockpit applications and explores their impact on accident rates in two separate analyses: the first examines the impact of ADS-B In on GA (Federal Aviation Regulations [FAR] Part 91) and Air Taxi (FAR Part 135) users in the Contiguous United Sates (CONUS); the second considers Air Taxi operators in Alaska. The results indicate a reduction in relevant accident rates from 40 to 60 percent for ADS-B In equipped aircraft.