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“I’ve got them on the fish finder…” is the scariest thing I hear good pilots say when Air Traffic Control warns them about possible conflicting traffic. 

New upgraded technology like GPS, Autopilots, tablets, and installed/portable traffic displays are designed to make pilots safer. Unfortunately, every new technology pilots add to their aircraft also comes with three things that can make them more dangerous.

The three hidden dangers are when good pilots don’t know the limitations, misuse these tools, and don’t understand how these tools fit into regulations or pilot responsibilities when flying. 

  ***Important note: This is a broad overview of general principles to help pilots be safer. It’s impossible to present an exhaustive in-depth explanation of the workings of every produced traffic system in this format.  

In the first of our three-part series, we will explore the limitations of modern traffic displays. There are four standard traffic displays in aviation. 

1. TCAS(Traffic Collision Avoidance System) is the only certified traffic system that can, or must, be used to avoid mid-air collisions. Due to the complexity and expense, they are typically only found in airliners and other large turbine aircraft. 
2. TAS(Traffic Advisory Systems) actively interrogates and “looks for” other transponder-equipped aircraft. They can also be combined with TIS systems that bring in other broadcast and relayed traffic.
3. TIS-A(Traffic Information Service) receives broadcast traffic information of mode S transponders to the cockpit from TRACON radar sites. TIS-A was limited to only showing mode s transponder equipped aircraft in terminal radar surveillance. No traffic was typically available away from class B/C airspace.
4. TIS-B(Traffic Information Service Using ADS-B) can receive traffic directly from ADS-B out equipped traffic and broadcast relayed traffic of transponder equipped aircraft.

When a good pilot replies to an ATC traffic call with, “I’ve got them on the fish finder,” they don’t realize the danger they are putting themselves and other pilots in. The three most significant problems with this statement are not complying with correct ATC instructions/communication, a lack of system limitations knowledge, and, most importantly, not looking outside!

….Continued Below

When ATC calls a traffic alert for you as a pilot, it’s important to understand what you need to do and the correct radio calls to make in response. The whole point of a traffic alert is to have you look outside and visually identify the other aircraft to avoid collisions. If you don’t see the actual aircraft outside, you don’t really know the best action to take for avoidance. Controllers need your help to know when they need to take additional steps to protect you and when they can focus on other critical tasks. If you say “Traffic In-sight”, it means you have them visually and can maintain safe separation. If you say “Negative Contact” it means you don’t see them and need them to help protect you. If you say “I’ve got them on the iPad or traffic scope or “the fish finder” it doesn’t help and may even make things much worse.

I love having ForeFlight with the Stratus by Appareo combination and wouldn’t fly without them. The ability to have a completely separate traffic, AHRS, GPS system is one of the biggest safety developments in aviation. Any tablet/ads-b in combination is a great idea. 

In addition to that almost every Garmin, Avidyne, and other GPS/Displays can also show traffic from ADS-B and other sources. The only problem with great technologies is that most really good pilots have never been trained on the limitations and best ways to use them. Any TIS, TAS, or TIS-B traffic display is for Situational Awareness only! They are not certified for collision avoidance. They are only designed to help you know where to look outside and visually locate the traffic threat. 

One of the biggest limitations to these systems is that they cannot show vertical trends on a lot of aircraft. When you see an up arrow or down arrow next to a traffic “dot” that means they are going up or down relative to you…with a change of at least 500 feet per minute. Read that last part again, please. If a target is -2(200 feet below you) and is climbing to go through your altitude at 400 feet per minute, you will not see the up arrow on most displays. This is why you should never maneuver based on a traffic display, You may think going up 200 feet will protect you when it may not. 

The other and most important thing to remember is advisory traffic systems will never show many traffic threats. Go stand outside at a busy non-towered airport on a weekend day and count how many aircraft don’t show up on your tablet. If they don’t have ADS-B out, a transponder or even an electrical system how would you “see” them??? The only way is to look outside.

MasteryNotMinimumsTM

Gary “GPS” (Guy in the Pink Shirt) Reeves

The most experienced GPS / Avionics IFR Instructor in the world

Lead Rep FAA Safety Team

2019 FAA NATIONAL CFI OF THE YEAR