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.
My Garmin ADSB-out came with an anonymize switch on the panel – didn’t everybody’s? That said, it’s kinda useful to correlate the ADSB tag with radio communications. This lazy Big Brother method of assessing ramp fees needs to be quashed.
The not-so-safe response to all this might be to base somewhere outside of controlled airspace and turn off your transponder when you are five miles away from your destination. That or move to a state that doesn’t impose personal property taxes on aircraft. Both solutions are certainly impractical.
Note that barely 1/2 of the currently registered GA aircraft are equipped with ADSB-out.
So, the ADSB-in display is not able to show all the aircraft around you.
You can turn off the mode C transponder, but NOT the ADSB-out, per the regs.
Missing the point here – ADSB is a very good tool
Everyone has the position of the aircraft, everyone now knows where an air to air conflict is.
The problem is with the data collected. There is little to no value is there in knowing what the target is. Completey remove the requirement to “register” the ADSB unit. Use it like a Transponder
Just because we have the technology to track our every move, doesn’t mean we have to use it and this data does not enhanse safty.
The argumet that the FAA or private companies are using public information to either charge a fee or tax or catch a violation is weak.
How do you think a nationally mandated ADSB device in a automobile would work transmitting your vehicle speed dircetly to the DMV so you recieved a tickets in the mail for every Stop sign you rolled through, 2 MPH over the speed limit, or the new law that gets enacted that limits how many miles you are allowed to drive per day or year ? Traffic congestion on the way to work, you get charged extra for being on the road during rush hour.
Pass a bill that strips the data and I will get behind it.
“Since 2020, the FAA has required ADS-B Out for aircraft flying in controlled airspace.” But only for aircraft with an electrical system. Hand-prop your plane and operate a simple radio and tablet with batteries and you are exempted from this onerous requirement. Same for Part 103 aircraft. Operate from grass airfields and you will not be charged airport fees. Government (public) airport authorities are money-grubbing non-aviators, focused primarily on expanding government jobs and lucrative contracts to their buddies among crony public works construction companies and consultants. Avoid government-owned airports and government airspace to avoid Big Brother. Don’t be stupid while flying to avoid problems with the non-flying public.
I, along with dozens of aircraft owners, recieved property tax bills from the local county admin, based on ADS-B data showing how long the aircraft was at the county airport. I was sent three years’ tax bills equal to more than 20% of what I paid for the plane in 2019. Others were hit with worse bills than mine. One fellow pilot is selling his plane due to the size of the tax bills he received. Not a good use of ADS-B data. Considering putting the Mode C transponder back in my plane.
You can’t legally turn of the ADSB-out, but you can remove the equipment and continue with just mode C.!
I don’t fly into any controlled airspace, so no ADSB-out….
I was audited by my states Department of Revenue, useing the ADSB flight tracker on my aircraft to levy fees based upon past flights.
Big brother is watching!
av8reb:
Please help me to understand your state audit. Did your state audit your personal income tax return, and if so, what triggered a review of your flight activity? Do you possibly operate a flight school such that maybe the state audited the school’s return and reviewed your flight activity.
My state would have no reason to review my flight activity for any reason. I pay an annual personal property tax on the plane, and that’s it.
Aside from a random audit, why would you be singled out for a state audit.
Kelly Carnighan
This will result in ads-b transponders being removed, or randomizers being installed. A friend has one…..does a
good job.
Kelly,
I moved my registration from where I have a residence to another state where I also reside. I moved the aircraft a year before changing the registration (for convenience) . The state tracked my ADSB flights for that period and levied taxes based upon the usage data. I should have left well enough alone.
Can’t get the cat back into the bag; no matter how hard you try.
I propose a new designation: “F-ADS-B” (& its horse).
Keepa’ da’ eyes open and outside at all times and not on electro-whizzies.
And, oh yes… HAVE FUN!
Round things forever, & needles UP! There is a reason race cars don’t depend on digital.
Jerry King
Anywhere with a PlanePass logo has bought into Vector Airport Systems ADS-B based charging system. It’s becoming prevalent at airports in larger metro areas in Texas. Visit their website, and you’ll see the dark side of ADS-B.
A privately-owned airport near me uses Vector to bill & collect their $20 landing fees.
I wonder how much of that $20 the airport actually receives?
I surfed Vector’s website but didn’t find any information on how much of a cut they get.
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.
The abuses are no so much by FAA as by state and local authorities.
Despite it all you may have lived a somewhat sheltered life. Dealing with rules and regs is one thing, dealing with the individuals is quite another on any level.