Minimum Safe Federal Aviation Administration Altitude Warning - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Presented to: By: Date:

Federal Aviation Administration

Minimum Safe Altitude Warning

April 21, 2010 Glenn W. Michael Manager, CAST International Operations Pan American Aviation Safety Summit; Sao Paulo, Brazil

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MSAW Overview

• A general overview of MSAW
• Accident Investigation impacts on MSAW
• Air Traffic Control procedures and MSAW
• MSAW Development

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Controlled Flight into Terrain (CFIT) is…

Four words meaning….

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Controlled Flight Into Terrain (CFIT)

• A controlled-flight-into-terrain (CFIT)

accident is one in which an otherwise serviceable aircraft, under the control of the crew, is flown (unintentionally) into terrain,

• bstacles or water, with no prior awareness
• n the part of the crew of the impending

collision

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Wreckage of KA Flight 801

NTSB

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Proximity to UNZ VOR

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On-Board Barriers

• Instrument Landing System (ILS)

– Glideslope out of service since July – Outer/Middle marker indicators suppressed

• Published approach procedures

– Pilot misunderstood/disregarded DME fixes.

• Ground Proximity Warning System (GPWS)

– Commonly ignored due to nuisance warnings

• Pilot not flying, flight engineer

– Didn’t challenge approach soon enough

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Ground-based Barriers

• Minimum Safe Altitude Warning System

– Inhibited by FAA due to nuisance warnings

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Effectiveness of MSAW

• NTSB/FAA simulation indicated that,

without the inhibition, MSAW would have generated an alert 64 seconds before impact.

• NTSB: This would have been sufficient for

the controller to advise KA 801. (p. 174)

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NTSB concluded:

“Contributing to the accident was the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) intentional inhibition of the minimum safe altitude warning system (MSAW) at Guam and the agency’s failure to adequately manage the system.”

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As Former FAA Administrator Blakey said,

"We need to change one of the biggest historical characteristics of aviation safety improvements—

• ur reactive nature.

We must get in front of accidents, anticipate them, and use hard data to detect problems and disturbing trends."

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“Mitigations” (Safety Enhancements)

• The measures taken or proposed to

eradicate the hazard or to reduce the probability or the severity of a risk.

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Order of Precedence for Hazard Mitigation

• Modify the system – design the hazard out
• Physical guards or barriers – prevent the

risk from occurring

• Warning or alert signal
• Procedural and training change
• Advise people – placards, notices, brief all

pilots, etc.

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MSAW Origination

Eastern Airlines Flight 401

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Eastern Airlines Flight 401

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Origin of MSAW

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Origin of MSAW

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Ground Based Prevention of CFIT

• ATC Safety Net

What ground-based intervention would have prevented the accident? – Automated tools provide the means for ATC to strengthen overall defenses against CFIT – Minimum Safe Altitude Warning (MSAW)

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Minimum Safe Altitude Warning

• A function designed solely as a controller

aid in detecting potentially unsafe aircraft proximity to terrain/obstructions

• Generates and alert to the controller when a

pilot is below, or is predicted to be below, a specified altitude

• Must be adapted specifically for each

RADAR system

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Minimum Safe Altitude Warning (cont)

• Types of MSAW Processing

– General Terrain Monitoring – Approach Path Monitoring

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Minimum Safe Altitude Warning (cont)

• General Terrain Monitoring

– Current Alarm

• Presently less than 500 feet above terrain map

– Prediction Alarm

• Pilot will be less than 500 feet above terrain map

within 30 seconds

– Projection Alarm

• Pilot will be unable to clear all obstacles within eight

minutes flying time on present course at a five degree climb angle

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MSAW General Monitoring

500´ Threshold Terrain Clearance Altitude Minimum Safe Altitude (MSA)

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Minimum Safe Altitude Warning (cont)

• Approach Path Monitor

– Current

• Pilot is currently below the calculated APM alarm

slope altitude

– Prediction

• Pilot is predicted to be 100 feet below the calculated

APM alarm slope altitude within the next 15 seconds

MSAW Approach Path Monitoring

Runway Glideslope Path

1 nm

Alarm Trigger Area

(100´ below glideslope path)

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MSAW: Safety-Critical?

• FAA: Safe operation of aircraft is ultimately

pilots’ responsibility.

– MSAW is an aid to Air Traffic Controllers – MSAW only ground-based CFIT barrier

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MSAW

• Phraseology

– LOW ALTITUDE ALERT (call sign), CHECK YOUR ALTITUDE IMMEDIATELY. THE Minimum IFR Altitude is (altitude) THE (as appropriate) MDA/DH IS (altitude).

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MSAW

• Procedures and phraseology

– ICAO order

• Procedures for Air Navigation Services – Air

Traffic Management (PANS-ATM) Document 4444

– Chapter 15 Para. 15.6.4 Minimum Safe Altitude Warning (MSAW) Procedures

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Thank You Questions???????