The second ever high-level safety conference in the 70-year history of the International Civil Aviation Organisation is to be held this week.
The meeting in Montreal will try to find consensus on how to prevent losses such as the Malaysia Airlines aircraft that vanished without trace in Asia and another that was shot down in eastern Europe.
There is broad agreement that the UN agency should build a database where governments can send intelligence or warnings about risks to aircraft flying over conflict zones.
But there are also disagreements about whether database information should be screened before being made public, and how to handle conflicting or inaccurate information.
Besides official intelligence, the database is expected to include media reports and other unofficial information.
The US does not believe Icao is capable of evaluating the information and wants sources of reports to be identified so users can decide how much weight they want to give them, the Associated Press reported.
Icao and Iata want long-haul flights over oceans to report their whereabouts every 15 minutes.
If there is deviation from the route or if there is some irregularity, the aircraft automatically would report its position every minute. That way an impact site should be within about six nautical miles of the last reported position.
Some airlines are balking at the potential cost. There is also disagreement over whether specific technology solutions should be required or whether airlines should be allowed to choose their own, so long as an aircraft can meet the reporting standard.
Current global aviation standards require that commercial aircraft flying long distances over water report their position about every 45 minutes, but satellite services can provide more precise information.