TRAFFIC ALERT AND COLLISION AVOIDANCE SYSTEM

 TCAS [ traffic alert and collision avoidance

system ] is the most urgent requirement in the
aviation .
 This system works in conjunction with an ATC
transponder to inform the flight crew of aircraft
that pose a potential in mid air collision of the
a/c.
 The ATC transponder should have mode-S
operation along with TCAS.
TACAS is an airborne system based on
secondary radar that interrogates and
replies to other aircraft, the system
utilizes the aircraft’s Mode S
transponders, and is functionally
independent of the aircraft navigation
systems and ground stations.
 Theory of operation of TCAS
 The TCAS receiver monitors the airspace around
the aircraft for potential intruders [other aircraft].
 If the receiver indentifies a potential threat an
aural and visual advisory is displayed to the flight
crew .
 The TCAS receiver- transmitter interrogates
nearby transponders to identify potential threats.
 The aircrafts operating with mode-A,B,S will be
identified by TCAS.
 It is a type of 
airborne collision avoidance system mandated
by the International Civil Aviation Organization
 to be fitted to all aircraft with a maximum take-
off mass (MTOM) of over 5,700 kg (12,600 lb) or
authorized to carry more than 19 passengers.
 Range is 35 to 40 miles
 CFR 14, Ch I, part 135 requires that TCAS I be
installed for aircraft with 10-30 passengers and
TCAS II for aircraft with more than 30
passengers.
 Incidents

 The implementation of TCAS added a safety barrier to help prevent mid-air collisions. :
 1996 Charkhi Dadri mid-air collision accident over New Delhi;
 2002 Überlingen mid-air collision, between a Boeing 757 and a Tupolev Tu-154, where the
Tupolev pilots declined to follow their TCAS resolution advisory (RA), instead following the
directions of the air traffic controller, while the Boeing pilots followed their TCAS RA, having no
ATC instruction.
 Gol Transportes Aéreos Flight 1907 collision with an Embraer Legacy 600 in 2006.
 2011 Friboug near-collision, involving German wings Airbus A319 Flight 2529 and Hahn-Air-Lines 
Raytheon Premier I Flight 201.. Air traffic control at Zurich allowed flight 201 to climb to flight
level 270. This triggered a resolution advisory for the Airbus to sink and for the Raytheon to
climb which was followed by both aircraft. Nine seconds later Geneva instructed the Raytheon to
sink to flight level 260 which they followed now. It led to a situation where both planes passed at
100 feet minimum distance.
 1999 Lambourne near-collision, involving a Boeing B737-300 and a Gulfstream IV. The airspace
above Lambourne is the waiting zone for Heathrow. The event is notable as both planes entered
the zone from different directions leading to an imminent head-on collision (one o'clock
position). The traffic advisory (amber mark) did almost immediately turn into a resolution
advisory (red mark) with a projected time for collision of less that 25 seconds. [5]
 2019 near collision between a Boeing 777-328(ER) and an Airbus A320-232 over Mumbai
airspace. The Boeing AF 253 operated by Air France was flying from Ho Chi Minh City to Paris at a
flight level 320 while the Airbus EY 290 operated by Etihad Airways was flying from Abu Dhabi to
Kathmandu at FL 310. After a TCAS activation the ATC ordered the Etihad to climb to FL330. [6]
 System components/Installaion
 A TCAS installation consists of the following components:
 TCAS computer unit Performs airspace surveillance, intruder tracking, its own
aircraft altitude tracking, threat detection, resolution advisory (RA) maneuver
determination and selection, and generation of advisories.
 The TCAS Processor uses pressure altitude, radar altitude, and discrete aircraft
status inputs from its own aircraft to control the collision avoidance logic
parameters that determine the protection volume around the TCAS aircraft.
 Antennas The antennas used by TCAS II include a directional antenna that is
mounted on the top of the aircraft and either an omnidirectional or a
directional antenna mounted on the bottom of the aircraft.
 Most installations use the optional directional antenna on the bottom of the
aircraft. In addition to the two TCAS antennas, two antennas are also required
for the Mode S transponder. One antenna is mounted on the top of the
aircraft while the other is mounted on the bottom.
 These antennas enable the Mode S transponder to receive interrogations at
1030 MHz and reply to the received interrogations at 1090 MHz.
Cockpit presentation The TCAS interface
with the pilots is provided by two
displays: the Traffic advisory display (TA)
and the Resolution advisory display ( RA ).
These two displays can be implemented in
a number of ways, including displays that
incorporate both displays into a single,
physical unit.
 Operation modes
• TCAS II can be currently operated in the following modes:
• Stand-by Power is applied to the TCAS Processor and the mode
S transponder, but TCAS does not issue any interrogations and
the transponder will reply to only discrete interrogations. The
mode S transponder is fully operational and will reply to all
appropriate ground and TCAS interrogations. TCAS remains in
stand-by Traffic advisories (TA) only.
• However, TCAS will only issue traffic advisories (TA), and the
resolution advisories (RA) will be inhibited. Automatic
(traffic/resolution advisories).
• TCAS works in a coordinated manner, so when an RA is issued
to conflicting aircraft, a required action (i.e., Climb. Climb.) has
to be immediately performed by one of the aircraft, while the
other one receives a similar RA in the opposite direction
(i.e., Descend. Descend.).
 Alerts

• TCAS II typical envelope

• TCAS II issues the following types of aural annunciations:
• Traffic advisory (TA)
• Resolution advisory (RA)
• Clear of conflict
• When a TA is issued, pilots are instructed to initiate a visual
search for the traffic causing the TA. If the traffic is visually
acquired, pilots are instructed to maintain visual separation
from the traffic.
• Training programs also indicate that no horizontal maneuvers
are to be made based solely on information shown on the
traffic display.
• Slight adjustments in vertical speed while climbing or
descending, or slight adjustments in airspeed while still
complying with the ATC clearance are acceptable
• When an RA is issued, pilots are expected to
respond immediately to the RA unless doing so
would jeopardize the safe operation of the
flight.
• This means that aircraft will at times have to
maneuver contrary to ATC instructions or
disregard ATC instructions.
• In these cases, the controller is no longer
responsible for separation of the aircraft
involved in the RA until the conflict is
terminated.
• On the other hand, ATC can potentially interfere
with a pilot's response to RAs.
• If a conflicting ATC instruction coincides with an
RA, a pilot may assume that ATC is fully aware of
the situation and is providing the better
resolution.
• But in reality, ATC is not aware of the RA until the
RA is reported by the pilot.
• Once the RA is reported by the pilot, ATC is
required not to attempt to modify the flight path
of the aircraft involved in the encounter. Hence,
the pilot is expected to "follow the RA" but in
practice this does not always happen.
 The following points receive emphasis during pilot training:

• Do not maneuver in a direction opposite to that indicated

by the RA because this may result in a collision.
• Inform the controller of the RA as soon as permitted by
flight crew workload after responding to the RA. There is
no requirement to make this notification prior to initiating
the RA response.
• Be alert for the removal of RAs or the weakening of RAs so
that deviations from a cleared altitude are minimized.
• If possible, comply with the controller's clearance, e.g.
turn to intercept an airway or localizer, at the same time as
responding to an RA.
• When the RA event is completed, promptly return to the
previous ATC clearance or instruction or comply with a
revised ATC clearance or instruction.
Types of traffic and resolution advisories
 TYPES OF TACAS

• TCAS I
• TCAS I is a cheaper but less capable system than the modern TCAS II system
introduced for general aviation use after the FAA mandate for TCAS II in air transport
aircraft. TCAS I systems are able to monitor the traffic situation around a plane (to a
range of about 40 miles) and offer information on the approximate bearing and
altitude of other aircraft. It can also generate collision warnings in the form of a
"Traffic Advisory" (TA). The TA warns the pilot that another aircraft is in near vicinity,
announcing "Traffic, traffic", but does not offer any suggested remedy
• TCAS II
• TCAS II is the first system that was introduced in 1989 and is the current generation
of instrument warning TCAS, used in the majority of commercial aviation aircraft (see
table below). A US Airways 737 was the first aircraft certified with the Allied Bendix
(now Honeywell) TCAS II system. It offers all the benefits of TCAS I, but will also offer
the pilot direct, vocalized instructions to avoid danger, known as a "Resolution
Advisory" (RA).
• The suggestive action may be "corrective", suggesting the pilot change vertical speed
by announcing, "Descend, descend", "Climb, climb" or "Adjust Vertical Speed
Adjust" (meaning reduce vertical speed). By contrast a "preventive" RA may be
issued which simply warns the pilots not to deviate from their present vertical speed,
announcing, "Monitor vertical speed" or "Maintain vertical speed, Maintain". if one
aircraft is instructed to descend, the other will typically be told to climb —
maximizing the separation between the two aircraft.
• TCAS III
• Originally designated TCAS II Enhanced, TCAS III was envisioned as an expansion of the
TCAS II concept to include horizontal resolution advisory capability. TCAS III was the
"next generation" of collision avoidance technology which underwent development by
aviation companies such as Honeywell. TCAS III incorporated technical upgrades to the
TCAS II system, and had the capability to offer traffic advisories and resolve traffic
conflicts using horizontal as well as vertical maneuvering directives to pilots. For
instance, in a head-on situation, one aircraft might be directed, "turn right, climb" while
the other would be directed "turn right, descend." This would act to further increase the
total separation between aircraft, in both horizontal and vertical aspects. Horizontal
directives would be useful in a conflict between two aircraft close to the ground where
there may be little if any vertical maneuvering space.
• TCAS III attempts to use the TCAS directional antenna to assign a bearing to other
aircraft, and thus be able to generate a horizontal maneuver (e.g. turn left or right).
However, it was judged by the industry to be unfeasible due to limitations in the
accuracy of the TCAS directional antennas. The directional antennas were judged not to
be accurate enough to generate an accurate horizontal-plane position, and thus an
accurate horizontal resolution. By 1995, years of testing and analysis determined that
the concept was unworkable using available surveillance technology (due to the
inadequacy of horizontal position information), and that horizontal RAs were unlikely to
be invoked in most encounter geometries. Hence, all work on TCAS III was suspended
and there are no plans for its implementation. The concept has later evolved and been
replaced by TCAS IV.
• TCAS IV
• TCAS IV uses additional information encoded by the target aircraft in the Mode
S transponder reply (i.e. target encodes its own position into the transponder
signal) to generate a horizontal resolution to an RA. In addition, some reliable
source of position (such as Inertial Navigation System or GPS) is needed on the
target aircraft in order for it to be encoded.
• TCAS IV has replaced the TCAS III concept by the mid 1990s. One of the results
of TCAS III experience has been that the directional antenna used by the TCAS
processor to assign a bearing to a received transponder reply is not accurate
enough to generate an accurate horizontal position, and thus a safe horizontal
resolution. TCAS IV uses additional position information encoded on an air-to-
air data link to generate the bearing information, so the accuracy of the
directional antenna would not be a factor.
• TCAS IV development continued for some years, but the appearance of new
trends in data link such as Automatic Dependent Surveillance – Broadcast (
ADS-B) have pointed out a need to re-evaluate whether a data link system
dedicated to collision avoidance such as TCAS IV should be incorporated into a
more generic system of air-to-air data link for additional applications. As a
result of these issues, the TCAS IV concept was abandoned as ADS-B
 development started.