NavList:
A Community Devoted to the Preservation and Practice of Celestial Navigation and Other Methods of Traditional Wayfinding
Re: Closest point of approach.
From: Gary LaPook
Date: 2012 Jan 2, 17:03 -0800
From: Gary LaPook
Date: 2012 Jan 2, 17:03 -0800
| This is not a problem that comes up since most planes have no way to determine the instantaneous altitude of the other aircraft and that information is needed for a solution to this problem. Airplanes are separated by 1,000 feet of altitude which provides enough safety margin because planes rarely change altitude at a high rate. Airliners are required to have onboard collision avoidance equipment (TCAS) that works in cooperation with the similar equipment on the other airliner to exchange altitude data and this equipment uses some algorithm to predict the future position of the other aircraft in three dimensions and provide warnings and collision avoidance commands to the pilot. These commands override any prior commands given by flight controllers on the ground and the pilot is required to follow them. This is important because the TCAS equipment is giving the
other pliot commands predicated on you following the commands being given by your equipment, the two TCAS units agreed on the avoidance maneuvers. A midair a few years ago in which a plane load of kids on a Russian plane were killed when the pilot did not follow the commands of his TCAS and climbed instead of descending as commanded. The TCAS on the other plan had commanded its pilot to climb predicated on the Russian pilot following the agreed upon solution of descending. So both plane climbed and bumped into each other. The crew on the other plane was also killed, fortunately in was hauling only cargo. So if you have a couple of hundred thousand dollars you don't need, then just go out and buy a TCAS. gl --- On Mon, 1/2/12, P H <pmh099@yahoo.com> wrote:
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