On Tuesday, September 13, 2016 at 9:32:57 AM UTC-5, Larry Dighera wrote:
Another Boeing Boondoggle Creates Potential Hazard In Skies Over Los Angeles

Call me Chicken Little, but....

I take issue with this quote from the following article:

"The Metroplex system relies on sophisticated automation and global
positioning satellites that will let controllers and pilots know exactly
where aircraft are at all times instead of waiting every nine to 12 seconds
for radar signals to bounce back."

In fact, controllers will not KNOW the correct position of aircraft at all. ATC
will know the position each aircraft reports via the GPS-based ADS/B system.
That's significantly less certain than the empirical evidence provided by
physically bouncing a radio signal off the aircraft, as it has been
demonstrated that weak satellite signals can be overridden with more powerful
terrestrial-based radio transmitters, and satellites are vulnerable to solar
disturbances such as Solar Mass Ejections. It also opens the specter of ATC
spoofing and the hazards to national security that potentially poses.

Further, with all the aircraft in the very congested Los Angeles skies
operating at reduced separation standard distances, what ATC procedure has been
SHOWN to be safe when the satellite link suddenly fails and all those airborne
passengers suddenly find themselves in much closer proximity to each other than
has ever happened before? Surly, radar will be a fall-back safety net, so
there is no public financial incentive to purchase, deploy, train, and operate
such a satellite-based ATC system. It's inherently more hazardous due to its
reduced separation minimums. I would speculate that it only benefits the
airline industry and primarily contractor(s) installing Metroplex at the
expense of the tax payer, and paves the way for a reduction in the ATC
controller workforce due to increased computerized automation. If the
controller workforce is reduced, who will manually control the increased
traffic density of marginally separated flights when the system goes down?

Who the hell is in charge here, the profiteers or those charged with keeping
the skies safe?

First, I bet that Boeing is just the Gen. Contractor with guys like Harris, Raytheon, etc. providing the hardware. I can imagine the GA entitlement boys being too cheap to buy whatever extra cockpit hardware is needed to operate in Metroplex. And I doubt any professional commercial crew will endanger their pax or themselves in a flaky system.