Story ID: 
NASA Testing GA CFIT Avoidance Technology
By: AIN Staff
Caption: iGCAS offers both an audible and visual warning of approaching terrain.
Word Count: 194
Researchers from NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center are testing a ground-collision-avoidance technology for general aviation called the improved Ground Collision Avoidance System (iGCAS), to offer pilots both an audible and visual warning of approaching terrain. The beta version AIN viewed last week at AirVenture 2015 was installed on an iPhone; a production version could be integrated into either the PFD or MFD of a glass-cockpit aircraft.

AIN flew an iGCAS-equipped simulator at AirVenture and found it incredibly useful after only a few minutes of training. In simulated scenarios flying through mountainous regions, the iGCAS provided clear aural and visual warnings of approaching terrain as well as visual warnings and escape options—turn left or right—to avoid the granite ahead. Should the pilot fail to react to the initial warnings, the iGCAS switches to a demand mode in which it functions much like a traditional ground proximity system, telling the pilot to climb left or right until the terrain is essentially no longer a threat.

A final NASA research report is due by the fall, when the technology will be released for possible development by a third-party provider.