The University Park Airport will soon benefit from a new aircraft safety technology system that will be installed in planes by the end of December.

Airport Director Bryan Rodgers said the system, the Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B), was developed in Alaska and is currently available only along the East Coast, including in Pennsylvania.

The new technology includes traffic information pertaining to airport runways, updated weather information, the current airspace status and the ability to see the terrain and other obstacles that might pose a threat to airplanes while they are in flight, including buildings and mountains, Rodgers said.

He added that the ADS-B system works by transmitting information from ADS-B-equipped cockpits directly to the airport with which they are trying to communicate.

The technology allows all ADS-B-equipped planes to see each other below radar coverage, which is very important in mountainous Pennsylvania.

Currently, radar will allow a plane to see down to 4,000 feet below it, but with the terrain being fairly mountainous in this part of Pennsylvania, the ADS-B airplanes will have much better visibility.

"This technology allows properly equipped planes to see each other," Rodgers said. "It provides a safer environment for the aircrafts to operate in, and [thus] for passengers as well."

Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) spokesman Rich Kirkpatrick said the new system represents a movement into the 21st century of flying.

"This is an important development for general aviation in Pennsylvania," he said. "It will provide additional information to general aviation pilots and will speed up the traffic at airports. The cockpit of tomorrow is here today."

Rodgers said the airport would not have to pay for the technology's implementation.

Instead, PennDOT and the Federal Aviation Administration will cover the cost as part of a partnership.

PennDOT will contribute $300,000; the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency will contribute $250,000; Pennsylvania's Aviation Fund will contribute $50,000.

Rodgers said that University Park Airport served more than 270,000 passengers in 2004 and operates 40 flights per day.

Penn State spokesman Tysen Kendig said the technology would benefit everyone who uses the airport.

"I think the whole nature of the system is to improve air safety, so this is a benefit to everyone, not just students," he said.

The technology will also go into effect in several other airports in Pennsylvania by the end of the year, including Allentown's Queen City Airport, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton International Airport and Lancaster Airport.

The technology should reach all airports in the state by 2009, according to a press release.