A US congressman plans to introduce legislation that would require passenger aircraft to transmit GPS location data following the recent disappearance of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370.

Republican Steve Stockman said his Aircraft Positioning Modernization Act would overhaul technology that is currently used to determine an aircraft’s location

Congressman Stockman warned that today’s technology is outdated and presents a potential safety hazard to passengers. “My bill would update this technology, leave passengers feeling safer on board a plane, and not burden the airline industry and taxpayers,” he said.

He said his bill seeks to increase the ease and speed of these search and rescue operations without further burdening the airline industry and taxpayers.

“The recent disappearance of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 highlights the need for modernising the system that determines an aircraft’s location,” he said. “When an aircraft crashes in an area far from radar, the aircraft can be difficult to find. Long, expensive search and rescue operations occur as a result.”

The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) has already announced that it is to convene a special meeting of state and industry experts next month on the global tracking of airline flights.

The Council President of ICAO Dr Olumuyiwa Benard Aliu said the UN aviation agency will be using the 12-13 May gathering to try and increase current momentum on deliberations over the specific aircraft and satellite-based capabilities needed to permit global implementation of worldwide flight tracking.

“The loss of an aircraft and any loss of life are always of utmost concern to ICAO and to the entire air transport community,” said President Aliu. “The unprecedented and unusual circumstances of Flight MH370 have been particularly difficult for civil aviation officials to resolve to this point, and the lack of definitive answers has been much harder still for the victims’ families to come to terms with. They, above all, will benefit from a fuller explanation of this accident.”

Read: ICAO convenes flight tracking summit