Fact Sheet: FAA Supports Using GPS to Increase Runway Safety

April 2, 2007 // Published as a news service by IHS

The FAA is working to make it easier for pilots to have an electronic tool in the cockpit that provides a moving map display with "own ship position," using GPS technology.

After reviewing safety data, including human factors research on the safety benefits of own ship position versus the potential safety risks, the FAA is changing its certification process to make GPS technology available to pilots later this year.

Electronic Flight Bags and Moving Maps
Over the last few years, the electronic flight bag (EFB) - an electronic display system that gives pilots information about a variety of aviation data - has replaced paper charts and manuals.

EFBs range from laptop-like devices that are independent of the aircraft and can be used on planes across an existing fleet, to high-end displays permanently installed and fully integrated into an airplane's cockpit. The FAA is focusing on a third type of device, referred to as a "Class 2 system" that is still portable, but takes its power and data directly from aircraft systems.

Most EFBs incorporate a feature called an airport moving map, a display that provides a constantly changing view of an airport's runways, taxiways and structures, to help pilots identify and anticipate the airplane's location on the surface. GPS technology makes it possible for the moving map to show pilots their actual position ("own ship") on the airport surface.

The FAA has varying certification levels for EFBs based on the technical complexity of the EFB and the types of data it is intended to display. Devices able to show data both on the ground and in the air, including an airport moving map that identifies the aircraft's position, are subject to the highest, or "Class C," standards. These standards were set with particular regard for the strictest in flight requirements.

Same High Standards, Streamlined Certification Process
The FAA issued its original guidance for EFB certification in 2003, and has since been listening to industry concerns about the complexity and high cost of certifying EFBs to provide the airport moving map/own ship position function for surface movements.

The agency also reviewed studies and human factors research on those systems, which showed that pilots had better awareness of their position on the airport's surface using an own ship position display. Recent tests also demonstrated that pilots typically glanced at the own ship display, then quickly looked out their windows to verify that information visually, eliminating one of the FAA's major concerns that pilots would be "heads down" too long for safe operations.

With that data in hand, the FAA decided to streamline the process of certifying the own ship position function of moving map displays. While FAA certification standards for EFBs remain the same, the agency is working with several companies to develop revised certification policies that will make this safety enhancement more cost-effective for operators, the FAA said. The new policies should be finalized and ready for use by the end of April 2007.

By focusing on the own ship position function and finding ways to simplify certification, the FAA expects the cost of certification for surface operations to drop to as little as $20,000 per unit - about one-tenth the original anticipated cost of EFB certification for ground and air operations. Based on feedback, the FAA expects the aviation industry to have the financial incentive to produce these devices in mass quantities.

Source: U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).