On June 8, 2020, a consolidation of several airline groups including the Aerospace Industries Association (AIA), the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA) and the General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA) filed a reply to Ligado Networks’ Opposition to petitions for reconsideration or clarification filed by the Joint Petitioners.
In the filing, the groups note:
“Joint Petitioners represent virtually all of the aviation industry – including helicopter and fixed wing pilots, passenger and cargo airlines, and manufacturers – and have the interests of the flying public and aviation safety and efficiency as their missions. Ligado seeks to obfuscate the broad array of interests that constitute Joint Petitioners by inaccurately referring to the Petition as the “ASRI Petition.” In addition, Ligado makes a shallow attempt to counterbalance Joint Petitioners’ broad array of aviation expertise and experience with an ex parte letter of a single helicopter company with a commercial relationship with Ligado and, now, a consultant under contract with Ligado, who happens to be a retired Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) employee (see, e.g., Ligado Opp. at 18 (referencing what Ligado calls Joint Petitioners’ ‘disagreement with other stakeholders’ perspectives concerning both TAWS and flight by visual reference’); JHW Opp. at 11 (referring to the Order’s recognition of ‘Metro Aviation’s endorsement’)). The Order’s acceptance of the applicant’s view, and that of a helicopter company in a commercial relationship with Ligado, on matters of aviation safety in contradiction to virtually the entire aviation industry is nothing short of baffling. and indicative of why the Order is arbitrary, capricious, and not supported by substantial evidence in the record.”