Southwest Airways on Monday mentioned it has added cockpit security alerts to almost its whole fleet of 800 plane.
The security alert system, designed by Honeywell, units off verbal and textual content warnings if a pilot is about to make use of the mistaken runway or approaches too quick for touchdown.
It’s just like the alert methods utilized in many fashionable automobiles, dinging when a driver edges too shut to a different automobile, individual or curb.
“Honeywell’s SmartRunway and SmartLanding software will provide our pilots with enhanced situational awareness to ensure the highest level of safety while operating on runways throughout the network,” Andrew Watterson, Southwest’s chief working officer, mentioned in a press release.
The know-how is an try to keep away from incidents like one which occurred on March 20, when a Southwest airplane began taking off from a taxiway at Orlando Worldwide Airport as a substitute of the runway operating alongside it, in accordance with a Wall Road Journal report.
Fortunately, an air-traffic controller intervened earlier than take-off – serving to to keep away from a possible crash on a brief taxiway or collision with one other airplane.
However it’s potential the Honeywell alert may have chimed in sooner, warning: “On taxiway! On taxiway!”
In 2017, an Air Canada jet practically landed on a taxiway at San Francisco’s airport – the place 4 planes waited with 1,000 passengers on-board.
The next 12 months, the Nationwide Transportation Security Board discovered that Honeywell’s alerts might need been capable of alert the Air Canada pilots of the error nicely earlier than the near-miss.
Honeywell’s alert system may also warn pilots when they’re approaching a runway too quick, too excessive or in the event that they’re overshooting the runway for a “long landing.”
“Honeywell systems and software onboard aircraft today help enhance situational awareness for pilots and flight crews — especially in low visibility flying conditions — to avoid wrong surface operations and runway excursions,” Thea Feyereisen, pilot and fellow at Honeywell Aerospace Applied sciences, mentioned in a be aware.
“We can’t rely on just one system, as it could fail, and we need multiple ways to notify the pilots of a safety alert – sight, sound and sometimes tactile displays.”
Southwest determined so as to add the Honeywell alerts throughout its Boeing 737 fleet early final 12 months to handle security dangers, in accordance with Watterson.
Final August, an advisory panel advisable the Federal Aviation Administration require new plane to come back outfitted with sure cockpit alerts. It didn’t prolong this suggestion to older, current planes.
The FAA is reviewing this suggestion.
In December, Southwest additionally instructed flight attendants to begin cleansing up the cabin earlier within the touchdown course of – round 18,000 toes as a substitute of 10,000 toes – in an effort to scale back accidents among the many crew.
Different carriers like Alaska Airways have added the Honeywell alerts to their planes, whereas producers like Airbus and Boeing are engaged on their very own runway alerts.
In the meantime, carriers are attempting to ease fears of flying following a number of highly-reported crashes and near-misses.
Some 64% of People mentioned they imagine air journey could be very or considerably secure – a drop from 71% the 12 months earlier than, in accordance with a ballot performed by AP-NORC in February.
