COMPUTER SCIENCE AND AIRPLANES

- TRAFFIC COLLISION AVOIDANCE SYSTEM (TCAS)

YIXIN ZENG

FIRST CIVIL AIR COLLISON AVIATION TRAGEDY CAUSE >100 DEATH

• GRAND CANYON MID-AIR COLLISION IN 1956.

THE 1956 GRAND CANYON MID-AIR COLLISION

A United Airlines Douglas DC-7

From: Flight origin Los Angeles Int'l Airport Los Angeles Int'l Airport

Destination Chicago Midway Airport Kansas City Downtown Airport

Passenger / crew

53/5 64/6

A Trans World Airlines Lockheed L-1049, 

FIRST GENERATION TCASⅠ • THEORY：• INTERROGATES OTHER AIRCRAFT• OTHER AIRCRAFT REPLY TO OTHER INTERROGATIONS

• AIR COMPUTER:• CALCULATE AND NOTICE PILOT POTENTIAL AIR COLLISION • VIA AIRSPEED, ALTITUDE, DIRECTION, PROMOTION AND DEMOTION RATIO,

TCASⅡ Give RA solution

coordinate resolution before issue to commands

TA, RA, region

• BOTH CONCEPT AND NOT IMPLEMENT• TCASⅢ TRY TO GENERATE A HORIZONTAL MANEUVER • TCASⅣ SIMILAR THEORY WITH ADS-B

TCASⅢ & TCASⅣ

• WINDSHEAR DETECTION  • GROUND PROXIMITY WARNING SYSTEM (GPWS) ALERTS•  AIR TRAFFIC CONTROL (ATC) INSTRUCTIONS ---JULY 1, 2002 ÜBERLINGEN

DISASTER

PRIORITY

CURRENT LIMITATIONS• TCAS2 ONLY PROVIDE VERTICAL ADVISORIES• INDEPENDENCE SYSTEM • LACK OF TERRAIN/GROUND AND OBSTACLE AWARENESS• UNIT, NOT INTUITIVE

THANKSQUESTION？