An altitude-capture software enhancement has been developed to eliminate the predominant cause of resolution advisories (RAs) from traffic-alerting and collision avoidance systems (TCAS II). It works by automatically adjusting the trajectory of at least one airplane converging with another during specific climb/descent scenarios.
Airbus TCAS Alert Prevention (TCAP) adds this functionality to the existing spectrum of defenses against midair collisions, said Christophe Cail, test pilot for the company. No changes to TCAS, human-machine interface or training are required.
Performance assessment with Eurocontrol’s Interactive Collision Avoidance Simulator (InCAS3) tool and Airbus simulation tools has enabled the company to estimate introduction of TCAP on new airframes and as retrofits beginning in 2011–2013, assuming that regulatory certification proceeds as expected, Cail said in November 2010 at Flight Safety Foundation’s International Air Safety Seminar in Milan, Italy. Increas…
