Engineers reduce risk of mid-air collisions

At issue are cockpit displays of traffic information (CDTIs), which are GPS displays used by private pilots to track other aircraft nearby. However, pilots often focus on the closest aircraft on the display, which can pose a significant hazard.

For example, the pilot of Plane A  who sees two planes on the CDTI is more likely to focus on the closest aircraft (Plane B). But if the more distant plane (Plane C) is moving at high speed, it could cross the pilot’s path before Plane B does. Not paying enough attention to Plane C increases risk of a mid-air collision.

‘Our goal was to modify a CDTI to help pilots recognize which other planes pose the greatest risk. And it worked,’ said Carl Pankok, lead author of a study on the work and a Ph.D. student in the Edward P. Fitts Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering at NC State.