The Nation : Collision Avoidance System in Most Airliners Mandated

The nation’s commercial airlines will be required to install a long-promised collision avoidance system in most planes during the next three years, the Department of Transportation announced. The system, under development for more than 20 years, will cost the airlines an estimated $806.3 million, the department said. The airline industry and pilots groups have supported the new device, called the Traffic Alert and Collision Avoidance System or TCAS II. Under the new Federal Aviation Administration rule, air carriers operating aircraft with more than 30 passenger seats must equip their fleets with TCAS II by Dec. 30, 1991. Several airlines have been using operational TCAS units on a test basis on a few planes for more than a year. Transportation Secretary James H. Burnley IV called installation of the collision avoidance technology in aircraft “one of the most significant safety initiatives in recent years.”