Transportation Department Deploys AI to Tackle Air Traffic Dangers
Secretary of US Transportation, revealed that AI is used nowadays to identify air traffic risks and address them, as reported by Fox News. The decision concerning the collision that happened midair in January, killing over 67 people in Washington D.C
The incident was in the news because of a collision between a commercial aircraft flying over the river and a US Army Black Hawk helicopter over the Potomac River. The collision raised concerns about potential system failures in the air traffic control (ATC) infrastructure. He also stated that the need of the hour is to reduce such tragedies and name the airspace “hotspots” before the occurrence of the accident.
Duffy said while the investigation was taking place, the officers said to themselves, "Are there any other DCAs out there?"
AI to Monitor Risk Zones Nationwide
As reported by Duffy, DOT is said to have begun using AI in order to analyze traffic data and detect the patterns that they think are risky. The areas with frequent near miss reports and high traffic zones are being monitored. The idea of naming one area a hot spot is still said to be unclear.
Fifteen thousand proximity alerts have been previously reported by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB); the alerts have involved helicopters near DCA from 2021-24. The alerts have raised questions regarding the system.
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New ATC System in Development
Consequently, after whatever happened, Duffy has announced a plan to build a “state of-the-art" ATC system that would help in replacing the outdated infrastructure. The infrastructure is said to be as old as 40 years old. He also criticized the past administration and said that their sole focus was on fiber telecom and not ATC.
“We’re not going to pass the buck. We're going to fix it,” Duffy said at a recent news conference. He stated “The last administration signed a 15-year contract to upgrade the telecom [wiring with fiber lines]," he also stated. "It shows how there was not a focus on the true issues that the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) was facing… We are not going to pass the buck. We're actually going to fix it. We're going to do the work to make sure that we do have a state-of-the-art air traffic control system."
