The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) announced on Wednesday that it will equip all its airport vehicles with technology to aid air-traffic controllers in monitoring their movements. This decision, spurred by the fatal crash involving an Air Canada jet at New York’s LaGuardia Airport in March, will see the agency invest $16.5 million US ($22.6 million) in implementing transponders, known as Vehicle Movement Area Transmitters (VMATs), across its airport fleet nationwide.
FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford emphasized the importance of VMATs in averting runway incidents, stating that the accelerated deployment of this technology will address visibility gaps on the country’s runways and taxiways.
Following the crash at LaGuardia Airport, where an Air Canada plane collided with a fire truck upon landing on March 22, the National Transportation Safety Board’s preliminary report highlighted the absence of a transponder on the truck. In response, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which oversees LaGuardia and surrounding airports, pledged to outfit its vehicles with transponders.
The airport’s surface surveillance system, ASDE-X, currently monitors aircraft and vehicles in real-time to aid air traffic controllers in preventing runway accidents. The FAA’s initiative to install transponders at airports nationwide aligns with its previous recommendation for airports equipped with ASDE-X systems to voluntarily equip their emergency vehicles with transponders to enhance airfield safety.
Approximately 1,900 vehicles at 44 airports with ASDE-X and Airport Surface Surveillance Capability (ASSC) systems will be fitted with transponders, along with 220 airports that either have or are in the process of acquiring Surface Awareness Initiative surveillance systems. The FAA’s statement also urged airports and airlines to follow suit in equipping their vehicles with transponders for enhanced safety measures.