ADS-B is helping air traffic controllers and emergency planners during disaster relief flights in the wake of the recent hurricanes, according to a new story by Dave Hughes, of the FAA’s NextGen Outreach and Reporting.
In a recent post, Hughes shows how ADS-B helped air traffic controllers handle traffic in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey:
Houston TRACON handled more than 3,700 airplanes and helicopters on Sept. 1, more than a normal day with virtually no airline or other traffic in the area.
The FAA also set up three Temporary Flight Restrictions (TFR) where operations could only be conducted by aircraft and military drones with the proper authorization. The idea was to keep airspace over heavily hit areas such as Beaumont free of other traffic so rescue and relief operations could be conducted safely.”