The US Federal Aviation Administration plans to release later this year a draft notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) that calls for the latest traffic-alert and collision-avoidance systems (TCAS II) to be installed in US-registered freighters.
The mandate for TCAS II equipment is expected to draw fire from the US cargo airlines, including UPS, which has started to equip its 229 freighters with automatic dependent surveillance-broadcast (ADS-B) systems.
Large passenger aircraft operated in US airspace must since 1987 have first-generation TCAS, but freighters have been exempt. The US Cargo Airlines Association has pushed for ADS-B, which will have collision-avoidance functionality, as an alternative.
The US National Transportation Safety Board says ADS-B cannot perform to TCAS standards and will take too long to implement.
Source: Flight International
