LADR is a global safety system developed by EUROCONTROL in partnership with ICAO as part of GADSS, the Global Aeronautical Distress and Safety System. As Anastasiia explains, its purpose is simple yet critical: when an aircraft is in distress, every second counts. LADR provides a central platform to collect and share the last known position of an aircraft with key operational stakeholders such as airline operators, air navigation service providers, and rescue coordination centres—so they can act quickly and effectively.
The need to have such a system is clear, with locating missing aircraft proving extremely challenging and costly in disasters like Air France Flight 447 (2009), or to this day unsolved tragedies like the disappearance of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 (2014).
LADR receives position data of an aircraft in distress from Autonomous Distress Tracking (ADT) devices installed on aircraft. ADT detects distress situations and automatically sends updates at least every minute, narrowing the search area to within 6 nautical miles.
Once validated, data are displayed on the LADR interface and shared with relevant stakeholders based on the operational context. Notifications can be received for a rapid response, and contact details can be accessed for aviation emergencies.
LADR is a mission-critical application deployed in the cloud and has been developed by EUROCONTROL. “One of our main priorities now is making sure that organisations start using the system, and that we see real user adoption of this system,” Anastasiia stressed.
A Ukrainian national, Anastasiia joined EUROCONTROL over 13 years ago as an ATM expert after having worked at the Ukrainian Civil Aviation Authority in Kyiv. She is in the lead for LADR and is the point of contact for international cooperation on LADR.
In our latest #RTAB podcast, #TeamEUROCONTROL expert Anastasiia Sobchenko explains what lies behind the concept of LADR, the Location of an Aircraft in Distress repository - a joint initiative with ICAO, the International Civil Aviation Organization that has just seen a significant milestone with the French Mission Control Centre now also feeding Autonomous Distress Tracking (ADT) data into the repository.
