New Radar Software program Protects Towards Taxiway Landings

Unsuitable-surface landings are one of many FAA’s top-five security hazards, and to assist mitigate the specter of pilots lining as much as land on taxiways the company has accomplished its enhancement of floor radar methods at 43 airports with an ASDE-X Taxiway Arrival Prediction (ATAP) improve. These airports already had both ASDE-X or related ASSC floor radar methods.

The ATAP software program analyzes the flight paths of arriving plane and anticipates when one is lining up for an improper touchdown. It should then difficulty visible and audible warnings to alert controllers.

“ATAP is a superb expertise assist to help controllers in mitigating these occasions, and has confirmed to be efficient,” mentioned Bridget Singratanakul, runway security consultant for the Nationwide Air Visitors Controllers Affiliation and co-lead for the Nationwide Collaborative Workgroup on ATAP.

Since its first implementation in 2018 at Seattle-Tacoma Worldwide Airport, the system has prevented greater than 50 tried taxiway landings. There have additionally been eight alerts already this yr among the many 43 airports so outfitted.

“Plane as small as a Cessna Caravan 208 as much as a Boeing 757 have been despatched round resulting from an ATAP alert,” defined Giovanni Dipierro, former supervisor of the FAA’s runway security group. Later this yr the company will start testing in Omaha of a comparable system for airports that shouldn’t have ASDE-X or ASSC methods.