Transportation Subcommittee examining global flight tracking

The House Oversight and Government Reform Transportation and Public Assets Subcommittee will hold a public hearing on Wednesday on efforts to improve the ability of airlines to track global flights.

The subcommittee wishes to prevent flights from disappearing. Aviation organizations, such as the International Civil Aviation Organization, do not want a repeat of missing flights, such as the March 2014 disappearance of Malaysian Airlines Flight 370.

The main goal of the hearing is to prevent another missing flight. One way to do this is to set international standards for airline flight tracking mechanisms and technologies.

Aviation experts have developed better methods for tracking aircraft when the planes are outside of radar technologies that must remain land-based.

Officials at the hearing in Washington, D.C., will discuss and examine the latest findings from experts in the aviation industry. They will determine how feasible it will be for aviation organizations to implement these new technologies.

Technicians will provide a live video stream to broadcast the hearing. Officials encourage the general public as well as the media to attend or listen to the hearing.