Adrian is Auckland bureau chief for Aviation Week, based in New Zealand. He covers commercial aviation in the Asia-Pacific region.
Adrian was previously based in Aviation Week’s Washington office for nine years, writing for a range of the group’s publications and covering many aspects of the commercial aviation industry. He has won Australasian and international awards for his aviation writing.
Prior to joining Aviation Week in 2002, Adrian covered aviation industry and policy issues for two other publishing companies in Washington. He has also worked for newspapers in Texas and New Zealand, covering a wide range of topics. Adrian graduated from Auckland University with a degree in history and English in 1992.
The FAA is disbanding an ATM advisory committee (ATMAC) as the first step to forming a new panel that will represent a broader slice of the industry. The agency sent a letter to RTCA on May 28 requesting that the ATMAC be wound up. Its next meeting, scheduled on June 3, is to be its last. RTCA told ATMAC members that it was also asked to form another group “to focus on issues related to near- and mid-term NextGen implementation.”
John Byerly, one of the most influential transportation officials in the U.S., intends to retire from the State Department in the fall. Byerly is the department’s deputy assistant secretary for transportation affairs, and in this position has led negotiations on major international aviation agreements. Byerly says he has no subsequent job lined up.
The Aerospace Industries Association is praising the FAA’s new rule on automatic dependent surveillance-broadcast (ADS-B), although the group stresses it will continue to push for operator incentives. Financial incentives would help “defray the very significant cost of the new rule” and accelerate implementation of ADS-B by three to five years, says AIA President Marion Blakey.
