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A Systems Engineering Approach to the Redesign of the Traffic Alert and Collision Avoidance System II
Subject area: Science,Engineering and Technology · Area of research: Systems Engineering
Abstract
The Traffic Alert and Collision Avoidance System II (TCAS II) is an airborne system designed to prevent mid-air collisions by alerting pilots to nearby aircraft and issuing resolution advisories such as climb or descend commands. Following high-profile mid-air collisions, including the 1986 Cerritos crash, TCAS II was mandated by the Federal Aviation Administration for U.S. commercial aircraft. However, its early development and deployment during the 1980s and 1990s encountered significant challenges. Initial versions suffered from unreliable alerts, poor integration with air traffic control, and pilot confusion, which delayed full adoption until system improvements were implemented in the late 1990s.
References
[1] Kuchar, J., Drumm, A. (2007), The Traffic Alert and Collision Avoidance System, MIT Lincoln Laboratory, https://www.ll.mit.edu/sites/default/files/publication/doc/traffic-alert-collision-avoidance-system-kuchar-ja-11284.pdf
[2] FAA (2011), Introduction to TCASII, http://www.faa.gov/documentLibrary/media/Advisory_Circular/TCAS%20II%20V7.1%20Intro%20booklet.pdf
[3] Heimdah, M. (1996), Experiences and lessons from the analysis of TCASII, ISSTA '96: Proceedings of the 1996 ACM SIGSOFT international symposium on Software testing and analysis, Pages 79 – 83, https://doi.org/10.1145/229000.226304
[4] M. P. E. Heimdahl, N. G. Leveson and J. D. Reese, "Experiences from specifying the TCAS II requirements using RSML," 17th DASC. AIAA/IEEE/SAE. Digital Avionics Systems Conference. Proceedings (Cat. No.98CH36267), Bellevue, WA, USA, 1998, pp. C43/1-C43/8 vol.1, doi: 10.1109/DASC.1998.741499.
[5] Federal Aviation Administration. (2017, July 21). Advisory Circular 20-151C: Airworthiness approval of traffic alert and collision avoidance systems (TCAS II), versions 7.0 & 7.1 and associated Mode S transponders. U.S. Department of Transportation.
[6] Liu, D. (2015). Systems engineering: Design principles and models (1st ed.). Taylor & Francis Group.
How to cite this paper
@article{1715795,
author = {Ayokunumi E. Ogunsina, Brent Cox, Thomas Ayers, Vitoria R. G. Santos},
title = {A Systems Engineering Approach to the Redesign of the Traffic Alert and Collision Avoidance System II},
journal = {Iconic Research And Engineering Journals},
year = {2026},
volume = {9},
number = {9},
pages = {3366-3373},
issn = {2456-8880},
url = {https://www.irejournals.com/formatedpaper/1715795.pdf},
abstract = {The Traffic Alert and Collision Avoidance System II (TCAS II) is an airborne system designed to prevent mid-air collisions by alerting pilots to nearby aircraft and issuing resolution advisories such as climb or descend commands. Following high-profile mid-air collisions, including the 1986 Cerritos crash, TCAS II was mandated by the Federal Aviation Administration for U.S. commercial aircraft. However, its early development and deployment during the 1980s and 1990s encountered significant challenges. Initial versions suffered from unreliable alerts, poor integration with air traffic control, and pilot confusion, which delayed full adoption until system improvements were implemented in the late 1990s.},
month = {March},
doi = {https://doi.org/10.64388/IREV9I9-1715795}
}