Why the technology of avoiding aircraft collisions may not have helped prevent DC falling in the air

According to the investigation, the cause of the middle air collision between the regional passenger aircraft aircraft and the American Army of the American Army Black Hawk was raised, questions about the role played by the traffic warning system and collision (TCAS).

The collision, which happened as the jet approached the National Airport by Ronald Reagan Washington near Washington, DC, sent both aircraft to the Potomac River. All in the plane, which included 60 passengers and four crews on the plane, and three helicopter soldiers were killed.

However, TCAS technology should be an effective tool in helping prevent such accidents. Here’s what we know about the system and what he could do in this situation.

How do tca work?

The problems with the collision in the air decades ago were brought to the US Federal Air Force Association (FAA) to adapt to TCA in 1981. TCAS is a mandate on all large aircraft in the world and on many smaller commercial flights.

It is an air electronic system that functions regardless of the air traffic control system (ATC) based based and provides protection of the avoidance of a wide range of aircraft types, according to FAA guide.

It is truly considered the last resort, but it is built with other plane navigation screens and uses radio signals to explore aircraft nearby. Then they will issue visual screens in a pilot cab and sound warnings that the second aircraft may be dangerously close.

“It just shows that traffic is in our location, there is a potential danger of collision,” said Semm Malmquist, Pilot and the aircraft visitor for the General Air Force and Traffic at Florida Institute of Technology.

And in certain situations he will provide pilots guidelines on how to avoid a collision, he said.

For example, if TCAS believes that the pilot must pay attention to another air traffic in the area, it can say “traffic traffic,” said Malmquist.

But this could also give “advisory on resolution”, which could include the instructions of the “rise of ascent”, “lowering down” or increasing or reducing vertical speed, explained Malmquist.

“It will actually tell you what you should do,” he said. He added that current technology provides only the vertical path of corrective action, which means that it will not lead the plane to rotate.

Does TCA always send warnings?

While TCA will show warnings, audio commands are automatically inhibited below a certain altitude, Malmquist said.

He said a lot of aircraft warnings were inhibited during certain flight stages to prevent worse problems.

Like a fire warning, for example, during the initial take -off, it will be inhibited “so the pilot is not trying to do something when it is safer to be in the air,” he said.

The same goes for making great maneuvering when you are at a low altitude, near Earth.

“First of all, you can’t get down anyway because the soil is there, and you can’t pull quickly because there is a potential that aircraft do not have the ability to maneuver,” Malmquist said.

What role as TCA -could they play in the DC incident?

Due to the low altitude of both aircraft when they collided, TCAS probably wouldn’t be a warning for sound at that moment, Malmquist said.

Also, the pilot probably wouldn’t look at the warning screen at that moment, he said. Instead, their focus would look out the window and concentrate on the runway.

“Unlike someone who suddenly reacted and plunged the plane to the ground or pulled the plane up … and lost control of the plane. At that moment you don’t have a maneuver margin,” he said.

“I do not know that TCA -and would not be helpful at all, but they inhibit warning and warning, especially because the risk of other problems is higher than the risk of collision.”