EGPWS Unknown Airport Advisory and Terrain Inhibit Switch
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Current Enhanced Ground Proximity Warning Systems (EGPWS) continue to provide unnecessary alerts when landing at unknown or unrecognized airports, causing confusion and annoyance for pilots, as the digital terrain database may not recognize all potential landing sites, leading to false alarms during intentional or emergency landings.
Innovation Solution
A system that generates an 'UNKNOWN AIRPORT' advisory when the nearest landing site is beyond a predetermined distance, allowing pilots to anticipate further alerts and providing a 'terrain inhibit' switch to deactivate repetitive warnings, ensuring accurate and relevant information is communicated to the flight crew.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the EGPWS continues to broadcast alerts when landing at an unknown airport, then the system maintains consistent warning behavior, but the pilot experiences confusion and alert fatigue
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs a preliminary check to determine if the aircraft is approaching an unknown airport before the landing sequence begins. When an unknown airport is detected, the system proactively issues an 'UNKNOWN AIRPORT' advisory message to the pilot, preparing them in advance for the possibility of continued alerts. This preliminary action allows the pilot to mentally prepare and understand the context of subsequent warnings, reducing confusion and alert fatigue while maintaining the system's consistent warning behavior.
2Reliability
If the EGPWS provides continuous alerts during landing at an unrecognized airport, then the system ensures safety monitoring, but the alerts become unnecessary and annoying
Solution Approach 1:
The system introduces an intermediary message, the 'UNKNOWN AIRPORT' advisory, that mediates between the safety monitoring function and the pilot. This intermediary message provides context for the continued alerts, explaining that the aircraft is approaching an unrecognized airport. By adding this layer of communication, the system maintains its safety monitoring function while reducing the harmful effect of unnecessary alerts, as the pilot now understands the reason for the continued warnings.
3Measurement precision
If the digital terrain database includes only recognized airports, then the system maintains data accuracy, but it cannot identify intentional landings at unknown locations
Solution Approach 1:
The system dynamically adjusts its behavior based on real-time conditions. Instead of relying solely on static database information, the system continuously monitors aircraft position, descent rate, and other parameters to detect when the aircraft is approaching an unknown airport. This dynamic approach allows the system to maintain database accuracy while adapting to situations involving unknown airports, issuing appropriate advisories when unrecognized locations are detected.
Data Source
AI summary
Systems and methods for advising a flight crew member that an enhanced ground proximity warning system (EGPWS), for example, may continue to provide terrain alerts, cautions, warnings, or the like because an intended landing site for the aircraft is not recognized within a database of airports. An unknown airport advisory is generated and broadcast after the aircraft is in a landing configuration, when the aircraft is greater than a threshold distance from the nearest landing site in the database, but before the terrain alerts are broadcast. The pilot may actuate a “terrain inhibit” selection device after receiving the advisory. The inhibit device may deactivate or mute subsequent alerts generated by the EGPWS during that particular landing sequence.