Latest news with #EnhancedGroundProximityWarningSystem
Business Insider
16-06-2025
- Business
- Business Insider
Southwest Airlines is adding cockpit alerts on all 700 of its Boeing 737s to help prevent runway incidents
Southwest Airlines is rolling out advanced cockpit alert systems across its entire fleet of Boeing 737 aircraft to help pilots avoid dangerous runway mistakes, including wrong-surface takeoffs, high-speed landings, and unstable approaches. The airline has equipped more than 700 aircraft with SmartRunway and SmartLanding software developed by Honeywell Aerospace Technologies, a global aviation technology firm. The programs work by providing pilots with real-time visual and audio alerts during taxi, takeoff, and landing, including "On taxiway," "Too fast," "Too high," and "Long landing." The new systems build on Honeywell's Enhanced Ground Proximity Warning System, which was already installed on Southwest's aircraft. The new system is design to prevent the kinds of potentially catastrophic errors that have become alarmingly frequent at US airports, including one in February when a Southwest Airlines jet narrowly avoided a collision with a private jet in Chicago. "Today's pilots face increasing challenges, including unpredictable weather and dense traffic in limited airspace, forcing them to make split-second decisions during takeoff and landing," said Jim Currier, president and CEO of Honeywell Aerospace Technologies, in a press release. "Southwest is continuing to put pilots and passengers first by investing in SmartRunway and SmartLanding software across its fleet," he added. According to Honeywell, the technology is already certified for a wide range of Airbus and Boeing aircraft and is already in use by several carriers around the world. But despite its availability, many airlines have chosen not to activate it. "Airlines elect whether they want to activate this technology," Adam Kress, Honeywell's director of external communications, told Business Insider. "It's been available for years. There is a cost associated with it — it's not free — but it's also not mandated. Some select it, some don't." Honeywell and Southwest did not share the cost of the system. Kress said interest in the alert system has grown over the past year or two, driven by rising air traffic and a series of high-profile close calls at busy airports. Public customers of the technology include Emirates and Alaska Airlines, but many airlines still haven't opted in. Southwest began activating the system in early 2024 as part of a broader initiative to manage emerging safety risks. That effort also included changes to in-flight procedures, like moving cabin cleanup earlier in the descent phase to reduce crew injuries. The decision comes amid renewed regulatory focus on runway safety. In August 2024, an FAA advisory panel recommended that cockpit alert systems be mandatory on newly built aircraft. The agency is reviewing the recommendation. While some airlines, like Alaska Airlines, have already adopted Honeywell's system, others rely on manufacturer-specific tools from Boeing or Airbus. "It is a really powerful tool, we believe, to add more barriers to potentially bad outcomes," Andrew Watterson, Southwest's chief operating officer, told The Wall Street Journal. "Safety is at the heart of everything we do at Southwest," Watterson added in a press release.
Hindustan Times
14-06-2025
- General
- Hindustan Times
Mangaluru plane crash survivors recall horror, gratitude 15 years on
Mangaluru , Fifteen years after the tragic crash of Air India Express flight IX 812 in Mangaluru airport, which killed 158 people, a survivor of the accident, K Pradeep, still recalls the day with solemn reflection and quiet gratitude. That aircraft overran the runway on May 22, 2010 and crashed. Pradeep, now a civil contractor in the city, visits the crash memorial at Kulur every May 22. He lays flowers at the plaque, stands in silence for the lives lost, and offers prayers. "It was the charity work done by my parents and their blessings that saved me,' he told PTI, recalling the horrific moment when the Boeing 737 aircraft failed to stop and plunged into a gorge. After paying tribute, he also visits temples to thank the divine for what he calls a miraculous escape. Another survivor, Usman Farooq, who now works with an ambulance service, also believes his survival was due to divine intervention. He remembers how the portion of the aircraft near the wing, where he was seated, broke apart just in time to allow his escape. Farooq said he owes his life to the Almighty and sees his work in emergency services as a way of giving back. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation , which investigated the crash, attributed the cause primarily to human error. The inquiry found that the aircraft touched down approximately 5,200 feet down an 8,000-foot-long runway, leaving insufficient distance to bring the aircraft to a halt. Despite repeated warnings from the co-pilot and alerts from the Enhanced Ground Proximity Warning System , the captain continued with an unstabilised approach. Investigators also revealed that the commander of the aircraft had been asleep during a portion of the flight and was likely experiencing 'sleep inertia,' a state of cognitive impairment, at the time of landing. The Court of Inquiry, led by Air Marshal B N Gokhale largely supported the DGCA's conclusions, highlighting pilot error as the primary cause. However, it also pointed to systemic failures. The report noted that the rigid structure housing the localiser antenna at the airport was not frangible, contrary to international civil aviation guidelines. This contributed to the aircraft breaking apart upon overshooting the runway. The inquiry also mentioned that audits conducted by the DGCA in previous years, including one in 2007 and another shortly before the crash in 2010, had flagged several deficiencies in Air India Express's training and safety oversight mechanisms. Unfortunately, corrective measures were not implemented in time. Emergency response efforts at the crash site were hindered by inadequate access routes and limited firefighting resources. Survivors and emergency responders later noted that these deficiencies delayed rescue operations and may have cost lives. In the aftermath of the crash, the DGCA initiated safety audits of other critical airports across the country. The regulatory body also formed the Civil Aviation Safety Advisory Council to improve oversight. Reforms were proposed to enhance runway safety, especially at tabletop airports like Mangaluru, and to reinforce crew training, especially on go-around procedures. Some of these measures have been implemented, but infrastructural gaps at many airports remain a concern.
Yahoo
04-04-2025
- Yahoo
Philly plane crash: Victims remains being returned to Mexico
The Brief The remains of six people aboard a medical plane that crashed in Northeast Philadelphia are being returned to Mexico. An 11-year-old pediatric patient and her mother were among those aboard the doomed plane. A 37-year-old man who was sitting in a car at the time of the crash was also killed. PHILADELPHIA - The remains of six people who were aboard a medical jet that crashed in Northeast Philadelphia shortly after take-off will be returned to Mexico. Among the plane passengers was a pediatric patient who had just received crucial care at a Philadelphia hospital and her young mother. The doomed plane was headed to Missouri on its way back home to Mexico when it fell from the sky less than a minute after leaving the ground. What we know A somber ceremony was held outside the Mexican Consulate in Center City on Thursday night to honor the six people who died in the plane crash. The remains were placed in a vehicle and taken to Philadelphia International Airport where they were flown back to Mexico to be laid to rest. Valentina Guzman Murillo, an 11-year-old who just received life treatment for Spina Bifida in Philadelphia, and her mother,Lizeth Murillo Osuna, died in the crash. The four-person crew were identified as Capt. Alan Alejandro Montoya Perales, co-pilot Josue de Jesus Juarez, Dr. Raul Meza Arredondo, and paramedic Rodrigo Lopez Padilla. The backstory Investigators say the plane was in the air for less than a minute when it fell from the sky and crashed near Cottman Avenue near Roosevelt Mall. The crash was captured by several cameras around the populated Northeast Philadelphia neighborhood and showed a massive explosion and fireball. Seven people, including all six aboard the plane and one person on the ground, were killed in the fiery crash that left a massive crater near a parking lot. Investigators say the cockpit voice recorder that was recovered from the rubble did not capture the flight's final moments. The flight was in communication with air traffic control, according to the NTSB, and there was no distress call received from the four-man flight crew. The plane's Enhanced Ground Proximity Warning System, which investigators believe "may contain flight data in its nonvolatile memory," was shipped to the manufacturer to see if data can be recovered.
USA Today
07-03-2025
- USA Today
No voice recording from medical jet crash: NTSB releases preliminary report
No voice recording from medical jet crash: NTSB releases preliminary report Show Caption Hide Caption Multiple recent US plane crashes investigated by NTSB The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is investigating multiple deadly plane crashes, including ones in Alaska, Philadelphia and Washington, D.C. Fox - Seattle The National Transportation Safety Board released its investigation findings on the fatal plane crash in Philadelphia on Jan. 31 in a preliminary report Thursday. A medical transport Learjet 55 crashed into a sidewalk in a residential neighborhood shortly after takeoff from Northeast Philadelphia Airport, according to the report. The aircraft, registered in Mexico, was on an air ambulance flight to Springfield, Missouri. The incident killed all six people onboard and one person on the ground while injuring 24 others and leaving wreckage amongst homes and buildings. Preliminary flight data showed that after departing from Runway 24 at 6:06 p.m., the jet climbed to 1,650 feet before entering a left turn and descending rapidly. The last recorded altitude was 1,275 feet at a speed of 242 knots. Flying feels riskier. Here's what the experts say about that high number of accidents. There were no distress calls from the pilots before impact. Surveillance footage captured a large explosion at the crash site, and debris scattered over a 1,400-foot area, damaging multiple homes, businesses, and vehicles. Investigators retrieved the aircraft's cockpit voice recorder, which was buried under eight feet of debris. However, it's likely it had not been recording audio for years. The aircraft's Enhanced Ground Proximity Warning System (EGPWS) has been shipped back to its manufacturer to be evaluated for any relevant flight data.
Yahoo
06-03-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
NTSB releases preliminary report on Philadelphia plane crash
The National Transportation Safety Board has released a preliminary investigation into the Philadelphia medevac jet crash that killed seven people last month, just days after the country's deadliest aviation disaster in over 20 years. On board the crashed plane were Valentina Guzmán Murillo, an 11-year-old girl, and her mother, Lizeth Murillo Osuna, 31, who had just left Shriners Children's Hospital Philadelphia, where the child spent five months receiving life-saving treatment. The pair were heading home to Mexico on the aircraft with a planned pit stop at Springfield-Branson National Airport in Springfield, Missouri. The Learjet 55 departed Northeast Philadelphia Airport around 6:06 pm. Shortly after takeoff, the aircraft proceeded southwest before it turned slightly right then entered a gradual left turn, ultimately reaching 1,650 feet, according to the crash report. The plane crashed a minute after it took off, killing everyone on board. Crew members, including two pilots and two medics, never issued a distress call, the new report states, noting the blackbox did not record the flight and had likely not been functioning for years. The crew was in contact with the airport's air traffic control tower at the time of the accident, according to officials. Besides the mother and daughter, the other victims were Dr. Raul Meza Arredondo, 41, pilot Alan Montoya Perales, 46, copilot Josue de Jesus Juarez Juarez, 43, and paramedic Rodrigo Lopez Padilla, 41. One person on the ground was also killed when the plane crashed into a residential and commercial area. Four people were seriously injured and 20 people incurred minor injuries. Security camera footage showed a large explosion triggered by the initial impact. The wreckage debris field spanned roughly 1,410 feet in length and 840 feet wide. By morning, the crash site revealed an eight-foot-deep crater in the sidewalk. Debris penetrated numerous homes, commercial buildings and cars in the area, resulting in extensive damages, the report noted. The report did not provide any details about what may have caused the crash. Federal investigators typically release a final report about a year after transportation incidents. The agency is currently analyzing an Enhanced Ground Proximity Warning System recovered from the jet. The crash occurred two days after an American Eagle regional jet and an Army Black Hawk helicopter collided over the Potomac River near Washington, D.C. on January 29. All 64 people on board the plane died, as did the three soldiers on the helicopter. A preliminary report on that crash is due any day. It was the deadliest aviation disaster in the U.S. since American Airlines Flight 587 crashed in Belle Harbor, New York two months after 9/11, killing 251 passengers, nine crew members and five people on the ground. Faby Guzman, the aunt of the young girl killed in the Philadelphia crash, described Valentina as 'brave' in her struggles with health issues in an interview with ABC 6. 'It was a long process from the day she was born,' Guzman said. "Her mom and dad were always with her many sleepless nights ... Lizeth always looked for a better quality of life for her daughter. We had many plans, but unfortunately, it didn't happen. Valentina was super smiley. She really liked me dancing for her and listening to music. She danced too and laughed."
