Synthetic Vision Helps Prevent Controlled Flight Into
Terrain
GPS technology is being applied to
older rotary-wing aircraft to help save lives, a senior helicopter
pilot based at Andrews Air Force Base, Maryland, said this
week.
Air Force Col. Peter Mapes and other pilots at Andrews will
install and test advanced GPS units, designed originally for
airplanes, in some of the 316th Wing, 1st Helicopter Squadron's
UH-1N "Huey" helicopters. "This is game-changing technology because
it directly addresses the leading cause of loss of life in this
type of aeronautical vehicle," Mapes said.
The Defense Safety Oversight Council sponsored the test as part
of efforts to reduce helicopter mishaps. From 1985 to 2005, 917
non-combat mishaps occurred, resulting in death, injury, damage
exceeding $200,000, and the loss of aircraft. Most helicopter
fatalities are caused by impact with terrain - unseen mountains,
trees or other obstructions -- known as controlled flight into
terrain or CFIT. Because the vehicles are generally moving at high
speed during such collisions, more than 90 percent of passengers
and crew exposed to these events are injured or killed.
The GPS units installed in the Hueys help prevent those
accidents by displaying maps of potential obstructions at a certain
elevation. "This device has a global terrain database and will warn
you of any potential collision," Mapes said. "It also has an
obstruction database for North America, Central America and Western
Europe that will warn about towers if you're in those areas." The
new GPS systems, he explained, turn each helicopter into a sort of
"mini radar station." In addition to providing data on obstructions
and terrain, it also tracks weather patterns - including lightning
strikes, wind flow and rain - and other aircraft in the area.
Colonel Peter Mapes
Unexpectedly bad weather is the second leading non-human factor
responsible for Army helicopter mishaps, and the leading non-human
factor causing fatalities. But, by using the new equipment,
officials say, a pilot can essentially fly "blind" using the GPS
and weather data to make flight plans, observe potential
obstructions and even land the aircraft with minimal
visibility.
The unit, a GNS-530AWT produced by Garmin, also gives the
helicopters radio communication and navigation requirements, making
them easy to deploy worldwide.