Software upgrade to EGPWS enhances crew awareness both on ground and in air
Alaska Airlines has become the first airline to select Honeywell's runway awareness and advisory system (RAAS), a newly developed safety system to reduce runway incursions.
RAAS, which is a software upgrade to the Honeywell Mk V and VII enhanced ground proximity warning system (EGPWS) , will be introduced on the airline's 108-strong fleet of Boeing 737s and MD-80s. The system has also been evaluated on larger aircraft, including the Boeing 777-300ER, and further fleet contracts are widely expected to be announced by the company in the coming months.
The RAAS uses a global positioning system and an internal runway database to enhance situational awareness. The system provides aural warning to the crew when their aircraft is approaching a runway, either in the air or on the ground, and alerts the crewmembers to the identity of the runway when the aircraft is aligned for take-off or taxi.
Cautions are provided when the system detects a runway that is too short for a safe take-off or landing, if the aircraft is positioned on a runway for an extended period of time or if a crew inadvertently attempts a take-off from a taxiway. The RAAS also gives runway distance remaining call-outs during a rejected take-off or while landing long.
* Honeywell has delivered the 30,000th EGPWS unit since introducing the technology in 1996. "As a result of EGPWS, the risk of controlled flight into terrain [CFIT] is now 50 times less in western Europe and North America than it was in 1991," says Honeywell Air Transport Systems president Frank Daly. However, Daly warns that CFIT rates in Asia, South America and Africa remain unchanged or "even higher" where EGPWS installations are not as prevalent.
Orders for the Honeywell system placed so far in 2004 include Avianca (25 aircraft), EgyptAir (31), Jat Airways (13), Mesa Airlines (70) and US Airways Express (44).
Source: Flight International
