THE
FAA'S FINAL WORD ON THE SUBJECT.
On March 23, a year and a half after the first proposal was written, the
Federal Aviation
Administration (FAA) issued its final report on the requirement for
terrain awareness and
warning systems (TAWS). In short, the ruling, which becomes effective
March 29, 2001,
stipulates that TAWS is
mandatory for all U.S. registered turbine-powered aircraft with six or
more passenger seats.
The final rule addresses two classes of TAWS equipment: Class B systems,
which
represent functions
available in current ground proximity warning systems (GPWS), and
Class A systems, which include basic GPWS functions plus more features
and a visual
display. Class A applies to all Part 121 operations and Part 135
operations with aircraft
configured with 10 or more passenger seats. Part 91 aircraft with six or
more passenger
seats and Part 135 aircraft with six to nine passenger seats fall into
the less expensive
Class B category.
Aircraft manufactured on or before March 29, 2002 must be compliant
before March 29,
2005. For manufacturers, turbine-powered aircraft rolling off the
assembly line after March
29, 2002 must meet TAWS requirements.
The FAA did not propose changes to existing training requirements as
part of the ruling.
However, the final notice states that the Airplane Flight Manual must
contain appropriate
procedures for (1) the use of the terrain awareness and warning system;
and (2) proper flight
crew reaction in response to the
TAWS audio and visual warnings. The final rule is not
applicable to parachute, aerial application, and fire fighting
operations.
WHY TAWS?
The report, which references FAA
and National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB)
studies, shows that the FAA firmly believes TAWS will improve safety.
"The Volpe
Part 91 study was conducted to consider installation of current GPWS or
EGPWS
on all Part 91 turbine-powered airplanes of 6 or more passenger seats.
The study concluded
that GPWS could have avoided 33 of the 44 (75 percent) [Controlled
Flight Into Terrain]
accidents and 96 fatalities, and Enhanced GPWS could have avoided 42 of
the 44 (95
percent) accidents and 126 fatalities.
These conclusions justify use of TAWS on all airplanes of six or more
passenger seats.
Some industry leaders are skeptical and believe that the cost of TAWS is
too burdensome
for most operators. But,
regardless of the cost, operators have five years to make their
aircraft compliant. After which, hopefully, the FAA will be right and
accidents will be
significantly reduced.
For a copy of the TAWS final ruling, call 202.267.9680 and mention
docket number 29312
or click here for a link to the report in Microsoft Word format.