"The National Airspace System is integrated, " a union spokesman said in an email.

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The Federal Aviation Administration plans to begin flight testing and writing rules aimed at integrating unmanned aircraft into the national airspace system as soon as 2015.

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"We're talking not only about a loss of jobs but, from my perspective, a negative impact to the safety and efficiency of the national airspace system, " he said.

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Making such a change in the architecture of the national airspace system would be a major effort and would require substantial changes in the way the current system is run.

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The participants in the challenege will get a two month set of data from the National Airspace System, which includes a slew of data such as flight number, origin, destination, take-off time, arrival time, latitude and longitude at frequent interim waypoints along the journey and weather and wind data.

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What the NTSB uncovers regarding the FAA's safety certification program could have important implications for the agency's ability to handle other technology challenges, including the transition to a new air traffic control system and the introduction of unmanned aircraft into the national airspace, said Jim Hall, a former safety board chairman.

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