Aviation Research

Actions to Enhance the Effectiveness of FAA's Research Activities Gao ID: T-RCED-93-40 May 20, 1993

The Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA) Research, Engineering, and Development (RE&D) Program plays an important role in ensuring the safety , security, and efficiency of the U.S. air transport system. By providing critical technologies, such as satellite and data link capabilities, the program can reduce delays and increase airspace capacity. Although FAA has taken some positive steps to improve the program, it has not implemented GAO's recommendation to include the requisite budget and staffing information in the RE&D plan. This information is critically important in today's budgetary environment in which FAA will have to make difficult trade-offs between diverse research areas. The program's success in meeting current and future challenges rests on integrating RE&D goals into other program areas, leveraging research done by other federal agencies, integrating various technologies to meet specific safety and capacity problems, and incorporating human factors into all research. The solution to some of today's most pressing problems may call for greater cooperation between FAA and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.



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