Flying aboard airliners registered in the People's Republic
of China is going to become considerably safer as a result of
a contract by China Aviation Supplies Import and Export Group
Corporation announced last Friday.
CASGC will purchase Honeywell Enhanced Ground Proximity Warning
System terrain awareness and warning systems that will be retrofitted
in 300 Boeing, Airbus and McDonnell-Douglas airliners in the PRC.
EGPWS provides a predictive warning of an impending terrain hazard
by comparing aircraft speed and altitude with an internal digital
terrain elevation database. This capability enables the box to
alert the flight crew to terrain hazards far in advance of conventional
reactive ground proximity systems that only use pressure and radio
altimeter inputs, plus glideslope deviation inputs.
CASGC is a holding company that procures civil aviation products
for sale in China. Its customers include Air China, China Eastern
Airlines, China Southern Airlines, Hainan Airlines and Shanghai
Airlines. China has mandated that TAWS boxes be installed in airliners
in the next few years because of the clear and convincing safety
benefits of this technology.
