Validation techniques for ADS-B surveillance data

The unparalleled safety and integrity of current air traffic surveillance is founded on the practice of assuring independence between sources of data wherever possible and using validation techniques to cross check reported data. Beacon surveillance in particular may be considered a form of dependent surveillance and the validation procedures in place today suggest ways to extend this practice to Automatic Dependent Surveillance Broadcast (ADS-B) based surveillance. The integration of ADS-B into the Traffic Alert and Collision Avoidance System (TCAS) offers an instructive example of how one might implement operational monitoring of ADS-B data using existing surveillance assets.