Avionics News February 2012 - 24

Human FactorsOriented Mitigation Efforts
When a prospect expresses interest in a portable CAS product, the avionics shop is in a unique position to encourage the prospect to include some of today’s mitigation tools in the flight bag of anti-collision gear. For example, the Federal Aviation Administration offers help through a number of sources, one targeted specifically to alert pilots to areas with past midair or near midair incidents. Aptly named, “See and Avoid.org” – as in www.seeandavoid.org – the Web-based tool is sponsored by the Air National Guard Safety Office. The site invites visitors to select parameters to highlight on a U.S. map – airports (major and minor), military bases, military operations areas, low-level training routes and special use airspace. The site also shows the location of past near midair and actual midair collisions. By zooming on a region of interest, such as a city pair of a planned flight, a pilot can review the position and number of reported near and actual midairs and their proximity to the route and airports. Sampling the region nearest the AEA’s international headquarters – Kansas City and its area airports – reveals a relative handful of reported near midair collisions and no actuals. Dragging the map southeast to the Wichita area reveals a significantly larger number – more than a score. Interestingly, the class B airspace around MCI is denser in small airports, but thinner in near midair reports. Around Wichita, with a smaller number of minor airports clustered around ICT’s class C, the larger number of near midairs hints at the higher level of general aviation traffic. Beyond the FAA’s own tools and training options, the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association’s Air Safety Institute offers training and tips on collision avoidance strategies at www. airsafetyinstitute.org, and so does the National Business Aviation Association at www.nbaa.org/ops/safety/20110803see-and-avoid.php. Any savvy, serious pilot should learn about these available safety assets when considering technology tools that can help their anti-collision efforts. q

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SEE-AND-AVOID AVIATING

A Pervasive Problem: Weather The continuation of midair collisions as a substantial cause of loss of life, despite decades of efforts and the advent of new technologies to mitigate the risks, remains frustrating for safety advocates. Thankfully, pilots who can afford a portable GPS navigator can also likely afford a PCAS – a portable collision avoidance system. Increasingly, the two systems can be mutually employed in the cause of avoiding all midair collisions. These accidents don’t happen only to the “other pilot.” If the aircraft’s flying, it’s at risk, even though in the scheme of general aviation flying, midair collisions occur with relative infrequency. But, they also tend to be disproportionately fatal. Private aircraft and non-commercial operations account for the vast majority of near and actual midair collisions, and most commercially flown members of this small club were flying in small, GA-like airplanes upon becoming members. Controlled airspace, uncontrolled, busy and vacant – it can happen anywhere. For example, in 2009, a commercial tour helicopter and a privately flown Piper Saratoga collided over the Hudson River; the accident killed six in the helicopter – the pilot and five passengers. This accident was one of 10 midair collisions that year; seven of them produced 19 fatalities combined. Typically, fatalities are multiple per incident where the aircraft carries more than the pilot. Two other midairs occurred without fatality, one between a North American T-6 and a Robinson R22 helicopter, the other between a Cessna 182 and an M20 Mooney – both in airport traffic patterns. Most of the others, however, occurred outside the confines of an airport pattern, which is where most collisions happen. Avionics shops should investigate portable systems available today and prepare to make informed recommendations to its customers. It also could help a pilot avoid things that go crunch in the sky. q

avionics news

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february

2012

http://www.seeandavoid.org http://www.seeandavoid.org http://www.airsafetyinstitute.org http://www.airsafetyinstitute.org http://www.nbaa.org/ops/safety/20110803-see-and-avoid.php http://www.nbaa.org/ops/safety/20110803-see-and-avoid.php

Avionics News February 2012

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Avionics News February 2012