1999-07-01 07:00:00+00 by Dan Lyke 0 comments
Interesting accident report about a midair collision attributed to the human factors of using GPS. Essentially, if pilots just plug in the longitude and lattitude of two airports, planes flying from one to the other will now be within 300 feet of a straight line between the two airports and so are much more likely to be close enough to each other to cause a problem.
The correct use of GPS decreases the average displacement of an aircraft from the centre line of its desired track; consequently, if separation procedures fail, the probability of a mid-air collision will increase (see LP 95/95). This increased risk of collision applies to both IFR and VFR aircraft in all types of operations.