Your Missing Air Traffic

Its not much of a stretch to say that in-cockpit traffic detection technology has never been more prevalent or popular than it is today. From the Boeings and Airbuses required to have a certified TCAS aboard, to the guy or gal banging around in a Cub on a lazy summer afternoon and using the traffic information from ADS-B, its likely some kind of in-cockpit traffic detection technology is available. Theres only one real problem with all of these technologies: theres no way they detect all potential traffic, although some see a more complete traffic picture than others. From that one problem, however, flow two others. The first is the false sense of security even a top-of-the-line system can provide. The second is the extra workload-and especially the additional head-down time-to which pilots are susceptible as they watch the traffic display and not the sky outside the aircraft. But even the best traffic detection and alerting system wont see an aircraft without a transponder, and the traffic information provided via ADS-B has its own set of considerations, which are summarized in the sidebar on the opposite page. Lets take a look at why all this is true.

Editorial Staff

Tuesday, January 19, 2016 at 12:00 AM ET

Verified

Key Takeaways:

In-cockpit traffic detection systems are widespread but inherently incomplete, as they rely on other aircraft transmitting via transponders or ADS-B Out, and therefore cannot detect all potential traffic.
This limitation can create a false sense of security for pilots and increase workload/head-down time, distracting from the primary collision avoidance method: visual scanning.
ADS-B In's TIS-B is an advisory service dependent on ground station coverage and nearby ADS-B Out aircraft, and it may not display all Mode A/C traffic, underscoring that it is a supplement, not a replacement, for looking out the window.

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It’s not much of a stretch to say that in-cockpit traffic detection technology has never been more prevalent or popular than it is today. From the Boeings and Airbuses required to have a certified TCAS aboard, to the guy or gal banging around in a Cub on a lazy summer afternoon and using the traffic information from ADS-B, it’s likely some kind of in-cockpit traffic detection technology is available. There’s only one real problem with all of these technologies: there’s no way they detect all potential traffic, although some “see” a more complete traffic picture than others.

From that one problem, however, flow two others. The first is the false sense of security even a top-of-the-line system can provide. The second is the extra workload—and especially the additional head-down time—to which pilots are susceptible as they watch the traffic display and not the sky outside the aircraft. But even the best traffic detection and alerting system won’t see an aircraft without a transponder, and the traffic information provided via ADS-B has its own set of considerations, which are summarized in the sidebar on the opposite page. Let’s take a look at why all this is true.