Enhancing Aircraft Safety with ADS-B

Aviation safety is a top priority in the airline industry, and continuous innovations are being made to improve safety measures. One significant innovation in aviation safety is the implementation of the Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) system.

ADS-B is a surveillance technology that uses GPS to track an aircraft's position, altitude, and velocity. Unlike traditional radar systems, ADS-B does not rely on ground-based radar and transponders but instead broadcasts information directly from the aircraft to air traffic control and other aircraft equipped with ADS-B receivers.

This innovation in aviation safety has numerous benefits. One significant advantage is that ADS-B provides more accurate and realtime tracking of aircraft, enabling air traffic controllers to monitor and manage air traffic more effectively. This system also enhances safety in areas with limited radar coverage, such as mountainous regions or over the ocean, where radar coverage is scarce.

ADS-B also enhances safety by improving situational awareness for pilots. The system provides pilots with real-time traffic and weather information, enabling them to make more informed decisions and avoid potential hazards. Additionally, ADS-B can detect and alert pilots of nearby aircraft, even if they are not visible, enhancing collision avoidance capabilities.

New GPS-based Routes for Alaska Pilots

Alaska has about six times as many pilots per capita than other states, according to the Alaska Department of Transportation & Public Facilities’ Statewide Aviation Division, and about sixteen times as many aircraft. More than 400 Alaska communities rely on aviation for year-round access, with planes often taking the place of cars, buses, trucks, and even ambulances.

With the necessity of travel even in harsh weather and through remote mountain passes, pilots often rely on instrument flight rules (IFR) to navigate when clouds are less than 1,000 feet above the ground or visibility is less than three miles.

One challenge with IFR flying in bad weather is that flying at higher elevations can cause icing conditions on aircraft. Pilots sometimes fly at lower elevations to keep from icing, but that can be dangerous in mountainous terrain. Additionally, flying too low puts pilots outside of radio range and out of contact with air traffic control.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in September released thirteen new IFR routes— with plans to release twenty-three more soon— that incorporate GPS-based data to update instrument navigation information. The new routes provide lowest-possible minimum en route altitudes (MEAs), often creating completely different routes than regional pilots used in the past.

The implementation of ADS-B has been a game-changer for aviation safety. It is a significant step toward achieving the goal of a safer, more efficient, and sustainable aviation industry. With this innovation, pilots, air traffic controllers, and passengers alike can be assured that their safety is the top priority in every flight. 

The FAA collaborated with the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association, the Alaska Airmen’s Association, the Alaska Air Carriers Association, and other stakeholders to create the new routes. The collaboration will continue as the group uses highly detailed maps to update IFR routes throughout Alaska. 

Versions: 0

Image F: DALL-E | Generation Attempts: 2 |

Image E: Stock art sourced by Monica Sterchi-Lowman

Headline Provided: No | Minutes to Edit: 6

Author: Chat GPT | Words Submitted: 245

Image H: Stock art sourced by Monica Sterchi-Lowman

Versions: 1

Generation Attempts: 7 |

Image G: DALL-E |

Headline Provided: Yes | Minutes to Edit: 6

Words Submitted: 244

Author: Rindi White |

‘In Conclusion’

Many have observed that ChatGPT has a tendency to include “in conclusion” at the end of whatever it’s writing. In fact, before we edited “An Imaginary Tour of Southeast Alaska,” that phrase was present, but even with the desire to run the response as close as possible to what ChatGPT wrote, we just couldn’t publish it.

It’s not a phrase you’ll see much in journalism or other contemporary professional writing. The general preference is to craft a conclusion (when a piece requires one) in such a way that the words “in conclusion” aren’t necessary. The phrase “in conclusion” should be relegated as a tool to help developing writers.

That’s our take on the AI generated short-form articles: they read like an amateur following a template, have no depth, and don’t meet our standards for publication. For example, in “An Imaginary Tour of Southeast Alaska” we did not cut ChatGPT’s assertion that visitors can witness a reenactment of the 1804 battle of Sitka, although according to Editor Scott Rhode’s research, while a reenactment took place in 2017, he didn’t find any evidence it’s an ongoing activity. In the same article, ChatGPT failed to mention how one would actually travel from Juneau to Sitka, which—as any Southeast resident knows—isn’t something to take for granted.

In the aviation short-form article, note how Rindi White includes dates pertaining to the safety innovation she selected; they communicate to the reader why it matters to cover this topic now. The AI did not. In all fairness, the prompt didn’t include a request for dates, but that’s also the point—ChatGPT did what it was asked while our writers took the initiative to do more.

On the image side, according to Art Director Monica Sterchi-Lowman, most of the AI-generated images were off in various ways: some were blurred, like a filter had been applied. Others seemed to be a great image at first glance but upon closer inspection had issues like a thumb missing its nail or glasses missing a part of the frame.

Overall, the production department had the same reaction we did: the work that AI produced was amateurish, like a new designer practicing applying filters without any real attention to whether or not the final result was good.

Sourcing AI-generated images took Sterchi-Lowman and our web manager Patricia Morales about 1.5 hours, compared to the 15 minutes Sterchi-Lowman spent looking for stock images. That said, all of the prompts did generate some kind of result in DALL-E, while SterchiLowman had to adjust one of the image prompts to find an appropriate stock image. The AI generated images came in at about one-third of the cost of the stock images, though neither comes close to the cost of an original editorial image.

So is the Alaska Business team celebrating at our next budget meeting because we’ve found low- to no-cost copy and image solutions? No. But we might raise a glass to the idea that our jobs are safe—at least for now.