Our recent survey on the subject of whether governmental agencies should face greater restrictions on how they use ADS-B data for enforcement actions has played out trending in exactly the direction we thought it would. But we had no idea how overwhelmingly against the government’s use of ADS-B data against pilots our community would be.
Our first question was a hot button one: “Should the FAA have the right to use ADS-B data to find examples of violations that are not otherwise reported to them?” Three-quarters of those who answered the survey questions thought that such fishing expeditions should be allowed, while just over 10 percent thought it was okay in some instances, with just seven percent thinking it was just flat out okay.
But as our original story found, it’s not just the FAA that’s using ADS-B against pilots. State agencies and even counties and cities are turning to the data, as well. Our question, “Should government agencies other than the FAA be allowed to use ADS-B data for enforcement of airspace, landing or other violations?” A whopping 82 percent of respondents answered with an emphatic “no,” with fewer than 10 percent thinking such uses of the data should be permissible, as it is now, and 17 percent thinking it was okay in certain, unspecified instances.
In our story that inspired the survey, we wondered aloud whether Congress should get involved by passing legislation prohibiting or restricting the use of ADS-B in enforcement actions. We asked, “Would you be for new federal regulations limiting the FAA’s use of ADS-B for enforcement action against pilots? How great an idea is that from a pilot’s perspective? Eighty-seven percent of survey takers thought that was a great idea, with 11 percent thinking that we should leave Congress out of the conversation and two percent declining to answer.
Thanks to everyone who answered our survey questions!
