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Aviation History
1989
1989 - 0214.PDF
TCAS deadline troubles airlines jgn |P*™^WM§K^iSI *"*• % mmmmmm™ 0 w ^^ w^^ ^t m ti ^ ^ *HJImr wf W •"TK American Airlines is one of the first US carriers to order TCAS II equipment by Julian Moxon in Washington D.C. US airlines are seeking relief from the Federal Aviation Administration's recent order requiring all aircraft with more than 30 seats to fit traffic alert and collision avoidance systems (TCAS) within three years. The December 1991 dead line is "not tenable", according to the US Air Transport Associ ation, which is concerned that many of the issues surrounding TCAS have not been suffici ently addressed. A study of TCAS operational readiness is being carried out now by the Washington D.C.-based Office of Technology Assessment (OTA), and will be presented to Congress at the end of next month. Politically sensitive The argument surrounding TCAS stems largely from the political sensitivity within the USA surrounding the installa tion of collision avoidance equipment, which is regarded as essential in the increasingly crowded US skies. Two years ago, the issue was taken up by Congress, which essentially pushed the FAA into taking regulatory action. Any change in the present ruling must be approved by Congress, and will depend largely on what comes out of the OTA study (OTA is the tech nology watchdog for Congress). More likely than a rule change is an extension of the present deadline to airlines who show a willingness to install the equip ment. Some, including Pied mont, Southwest, and Ameri can, have already ordered equipment from Bendix/King, one of three US manufacturers developing TCAS. Southwest Airlines, like American, o\ A meeting at OTA last week included representatives from US and foreign airlines, indus try, and the Federal Aviation Administration. One of the main topics discussed was the near-impossibility of airlines meeting the FAA's deadline without aircraft being taken out of service for a significant time and losing revenue. "It is certainly the case that airlines are very concerned," a spokes man for the International Air Transport Association tells Flight. He adds that lata is "very much in favour" of the TCAS concept. "We have supported it all along," he says. More time needed One industry source says that the airlines need at least another year, "and probably two", to comply with the ruling. Regu latory matters alone will take considerable time, it adds, given the need for a supplemental type certificate for each type of aircraft fitted with TCAS. Another issue concerns foreign carriers wanting to fly into US airspace, who are also covered by the ruling. A spokes man for the British Embassy, present at the OTA meeting, expresses concern that, by "unilaterally" requiring foreign carriers to carry TCAS, the FAA is "undermining" the process agreed by the Inter national Civil Aviation Organisation for the intro duction of such equipment. "Europeans approve of TCAS," he says, "but Congress should let ICAO produce stan dards and recommended prac tices, and move with harmony towards a system for world wide use." The FAA asserts that co operation with the international community on development of TCAS operational standards is "excellent". Joe Fee, the FAA's TCAS programme manager, says that the FAA will in any case be "permissive" towards foreign TCAS-equipped air lines flying in US airspace because their standards would be at least equivalent to those in use by the FAA. Fee is working to bring the FAA and ICAO together. He says that one area where "we could potentially have a difference" is in the amount of authority given to air traffic • • controllers in controlling the sensitivity of airborne sets during extremely busy periods. ICAO wants to give controllers authority to switch TCAS sets off during such periods, when pilots may be distracted by constant aircraft proximity warnings. Fee believes that, following a TCAS warning, pilots should be able to decide for themselves whether they are in conflict with other aircraft. Production soon Fee says that he expects to see production TCAS sets coming off the line by the end of this year, or early next, with the first TCAS-equipped airline flying towards the middle of 1990. Certification will depend on an airline having aircraft type certificates, and on FAA approval of that airline's TCAS training procedures and so on. Testing of pre-production TCAS systems with the latest, and probably last, software modifications begins in the spring, says Fee. The "Change Six" update eliminated the "TCAS invalid" condition which sometimes resulted when one of two aircraft on a crossing encounter changed direction unexpectedly after the system had predicted the two flight- paths, and indicated the correct avoidance action. Another improvement en sures that TCAS sets on aircraft flying a potential collision course indicate avoiding action in the correct (i.e. opposite) sense. "We have now ensured that the first guy who sees a potential conflict chooses the sense of the avoiding action," says Fee. This involved increasing Mode S processing speed, and led to the installation of a separate modem on the back of the transponder. ed for TCAS II equipment from Bendix/King 20 FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL, 28 January 1989
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