Honeywell speaks on increased safety in light of increased runway events
In the aftermath of increased runway events in recent months and years, Honeywell Aerospace Technologies aims to increase pilot awareness and confidence of potential risks on the ground.
Runway events can be divided into three types: incursions (incidents on the runway during takeoff or landing), excursion (when aircraft departs the edges of a runway), and wrong surface events (when an aircraft uses the wrong runway).
Aviation is one of the safest forms of transportation, but a growing and robust demand for air transportation is making air space and airports more crowded.
“We continue to maintain an absolutely high standard of safety, so this is where we look at what can we do to continue to improve the level of safety within our industry,” said Anthony Florian, Honeywell President EMEAI (Europe, Middle East, Africa, India) at Honeywell. “Particularly as we talk about the increase in volume and traffic.”
One solution is automatic dependence surveillance equipment, which is mandated on all aircraft and helps with awareness in the air. Enhancing audible and visual call outs within the cockpit can also add an extra layer of defense.
“What we’re doing within our technology space on the aircraft is to improve the technologies, the algorithms, and the calculations that would provide pilots the awareness of that potential risk well in advance of what ATC could provide,” explained Florian.
“We need multiple layers of protection in our air traffic system. 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. Pilots are the last line of defense, and they have been the heroes in runway safety situations which have prevented multiple catastrophes. We need to give pilots the tools that will help them continue to protect the lives of the passengers and crew onboard these aircraft.”
