The Pilot and Aircraft Privacy Act would block the use of ADS-B data for collecting airport fees or launching investigations.
Sen. Ted Budd (R-NC) introduced S.2175, with Sens. Dan Sullivan (R-AK) and Tim Sheehy (R-MT) as co-sponsors. Rep. Robert F. Onder (R-MO) introduced the companion bill, H.4146.
From Sen. Budd’s website, the bill:
- Prohibits government agencies and private actors from using ADS-B data to identify aircraft for the purpose of imposing fees or charges.
- Clarifies that ADS-B data may only be used by air traffic controllers for air traffic safety, efficiency, or for other purposes approved by the Secretary of Transportation following public comment.
- Ensures that investigations cannot be initiated on the basis of ADS-B data.
- Requires public-use airports to disclose financial information and the projected impact before imposing new fees on general aviation, and requires that any such fees must be used exclusively for airside safety improvements.
“As a pilot with years of experience using ADS-B technology, I understand the game-changing impact it has had on aviation safety. By communicating an aircraft’s identification, airspeed, heading and altitude, ADS-B has dramatically improved situational awareness for pilots, as well as the real-time data air traffic controllers need to keep pilots and passengers safe,” said Rep. Onder. “Unfortunately, some third parties have taken advantage of this data to impose and collect exorbitant third-party landing fees and frivolous lawsuits targeted at general aviation pilots and travelers. These uses of data for purposes other than air traffic safety act as a deterrent for pilots to equip their aircraft with this potentially life-saving technology.”
Since 2020, the FAA has required ADS-B Out for aircraft flying in controlled airspace.
That requirement stems from a rule the FAA finalized in May 2010.
Fifty-two years, thousands of hours, Wright Bros Master Pilot Award, two airplanes (land and sea), ADS-B compliant well before the deadline, and I don’t know a single individual who has been subjected to fee generated by ADS-B. This has got to be an exception than a rule. And no, it’s not legally right. Many FBOs have seen fit to drop the $10 ramp fee.
If a pilot is witnessed flying at a very low altitude, what might to some be considered a dangerously low altitude, and is reported, the FAA is obligated to investigate the report before issuing a citation. The FAA will use what tools are available to determine if indeed an FAR has been violated. ADS-B is one such tool. It just might prove the pilot was in compliance with the FAR’s. It has been a great help in the Potomac collision investigation. The FAA isn’t sitting in room with an eye on the sky policing every aircraft in the air at any given time watching for violators. They are not abusing the system.
If there are abuses of the ADS-S system in manner it was not intended for, then violators should be subject to penalties. If it take legislation so be it.