Phoenix airports to trial ground vehicle runway alert system

The City of Phoenix Aviation Department will study the use of runway safety technology on ground vehicles at three airports, according to the department's plan. The work follows a fatal collision at LaGuardia Airport in March, when an Air Canada CRJ-900 and an airport fire truck struck each other on a runway.

Two pilots died and more than 40 people were injured in that accident. Investigators found that the fire truck's occupants did not realise an air traffic controller's instruction to stop crossing Runway 4 was meant for them, according to the NTSB.

The Phoenix study will evaluate Honeywell Aerospace's Surface Alert system, known as SURF-A, which issues aural and visual warnings to pilots when they are on a collision course. The company says other runway safety systems are visual only, or flag hazards solely to air traffic controllers.

SURF-A was first developed for aircraft and will be fitted to ground vehicles at Phoenix Sky Harbor International, Phoenix Goodyear and Phoenix Deer Valley. Honeywell said the study is due to start this month and run through the rest of the year, and that it could open new uses for the technology.

Bob Buddecke, president and CEO of electronic solutions at Honeywell Aerospace, said drivers of fire trucks, ambulances and other vehicles face the same risk of high-speed collisions on runways as pilots and need direct alerts. Airport vehicle operators have requested the capability, he said, because an early warning can separate a safe pass from a major collision.

Honeywell described the trial as the first time an airport anywhere will use this kind of collision avoidance technology on ground vehicles. The system pairs SURF-A avionics with a digital airport map to give vehicle drivers a real-time picture of potential collisions while they use runways and taxiways.