THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
OCTOBER 22, 2009
When Air France Flight 447 crashed in the Atlantic Ocean in June, seven hours elapsed before air-traffic controllers realized it was missing, delaying search and rescue efforts and bewildering air travelers over how a jumbo jet could be lost in an age when even simple cellphones can pinpoint positions.
Could it happen in the U.S. and other parts of the world? Thanks to a relatively new breed of air-traffic-control systems, that isn't likely. Air-traffic controllers in the U.S., Europe, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, who control most of the air traffic across oceans, now have modern satellite-based systems that include frequent automatic position reporting from airplanes and email-like communications between pilots and controllers.
Besides just knowing where planes are with more-accurate and more-timely position reports, the benefits of modern systems are numerous: Flights are shortened by allowing more efficient routes, saving time for travelers, money for airlines and reducing the carbon footprint of airliners. And travelers get smoother flights because planes can fly closer together, allowing more to use the least-turbulent altitudes.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000...981612780.html
