Air Traffic Control

Remote Radar for Grand Junction Gao ID: RCED-97-22 November 19, 1996

GAO agrees with the Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA) determination that remoting the Grand Junction radar signal to a TRACON facility in Denver is the most cost-effective way to handle radar data from the site. However, GAO believes that the projected savings from the remote option are overstated by about $500,000--$5.4 billion rather than $5.9 billion--because FAA overlooked certain telecommunications costs and did not use more realistic staffing scenarios. GAO found no valid concerns about the safety and efficiency of remoting radar data or contracting out a tower's operation. FAA's process for deciding when and where to remote radar signals was generally sound but relatively ad hoc. A formal methodology for making such decisions would have helped the agency to (1) ensure that all relevant factors were properly considered and (2) communicate to all affected communities how it arrived at its decision.

GAO found that: (1) it agreed with the FAA determination that remoting the Grand Junction radar signal to a terminal radar approach control (TRACON) facility in Denver is the most cost-effective option for handling radar data from the site; (2) the FAA 20-year projected savings attributable to the remote option should be reduced by about $500,000, from $5.9 million to $5.4 million, since FAA overlooked certain telecommunications costs and did not utilize more realistic staffing scenarios; (3) GAO analysis of the available data disclosed no valid concerns about the safety and efficiency of remoting radar data or contracting out a tower's operation; (4) the FAA process for deciding when and where to remote radar signals was generally sound, but relatively ad hoc; and (5) a formal methodology for making such decisions would have helped FAA to ensure that all relevant factors were properly considered and communicate to the affected communities how its decision was made.

Recommendations

Our recommendations from this work are listed below with a Contact for more information. Status will change from "In process" to "Open," "Closed - implemented," or "Closed - not implemented" based on our follow up work.

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