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4. Terrain Awareness and Warning Systems – Proposed Regulations Published in Canada Gazette Part 1

Terrain Awareness and Warning Systems – Proposed Regulations Published in Canada Gazette Part 1

Transport Canada proposed new regulations to enhance the safety of Canadian aviation. The regulations would require private and commercial aircraft configured with six or more passenger seats to install and operate Terrain Awareness and Warning Systems (TAWS).

TAWS provide aural and visual alerts to flight crews when the path of the aircraft is predicted to collide with terrain, water or obstacles allowing the flight crew sufficient time to take evasive action.

Inadvertent airplane collisions with ground, water or obstacles, termed Controlled Flight into Terrain (CFIT), often occur when pilots are unaware of the danger until it is too late and lead to fatal accidents. The risk is even greater for small aircraft, which venture further into remote wilderness or into mountainous terrain but are not required to have the same proximity warning equipment as large airliners. This is a serious concern for Transport Canada. The proposed regulations will significantly reduce or eliminate the risk.

If implemented, the regulations will bring Canada in compliance with the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) standards and bring Canadian regulations closer to those of other aviation authorities, including those in the US and the EU. In addition, the Transportation Safety Board of Canada recommends the use of TAWS equipment.

The majority of Canadian operators that fly passenger airplanes internationally have already equipped their fleet with TAWS. The present value benefit (e.g., avoidance of fatalities, serious injuries and material) of equipping and retrofitting the remainder of the fleet with TAWS is estimated to be approximately $216M for a 10-year period.

The regulations for TAWS will supersede the regulatory requirement for a Ground Proximity Warning System (GPWS) under the current Section 605.37 of the Canadian Aviation Regulations. In comparison to a GPWS, a TAWS provides the flight crew with much earlier aural and visual warnings of an impending collision and provides these warnings under conditions GPWS cannot. 

The proposed regulatory amendments would introduce requirements for the installation of TAWS equipped with an Enhanced Altitude Accuracy (EAA) function. TAWS require precise altitude information to function correctly. It is estimated that a TAWS without an EAA can give altitude readings that are incorrect by up to 500 feet due to such conditions as pressure and frigid temperatures.  Without the enhanced altitude accuracy provision, a TAWS may, under the conditions described above, fail to provide alerts to avoid a CFIT event.

Operators would have two years from the date the regulations come into force to equip their aircraft with TAWS and five years to equip with EAA.

The proposed regulations will require a 75-day consultation period to allow sufficient time for stakeholders to comment before they are finalized and published in the Canada Gazette, Part II.

For further information, please contact:

Civil Aviation Communication Centre
1-800-305-2059
Services@tc.gc.ca

Date modified:

2011-12-05

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