Pilots take a look at cockpit alert system that might forestall shut calls on the runway

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KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Engineers are within the last testing section of a cockpit alert system they are saying might forestall shut calls on the runway.

Honeywell Aerospace's "Floor Alert System," or "SURF-A," can detect when a rogue plane will get in the best way of one other airplane that has been cleared for takeoff or touchdown. The system provides pilots two aural alerts when an unauthorized plane enters the runway on a collision course with the licensed plane. The primary alert sounds 30 seconds earlier than a collision, and the second alert sounds 15 seconds earlier than a collision.

"It appears like such a small period of time, however issues occur so quickly, and 15 to 30 seconds is definitely a really, very massive margin whenever you're transferring on the speeds that we're transferring in an plane like this," Honeywell Take a look at Pilot Doug Rybczynski stated.

The aural call-out contains an automatic voice that claims, "site visitors on runway."

"It is an excellent, I'd say direct, name out," Rybczynski stated.

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SURF-A provides pilots two aural warnings when they're on a collision course with one other airplane throughout takeoff and touchdown. The primary alert sounds 30 seconds out from collision, and the second alert sounds 15 seconds out. (Honeywell Aeroscpace)

The Honeywell crew flew from the Kansas Metropolis Downtown airport in Missouri to Topeka, Kansas. On Take a look at Flight 757's strategy to Topeka, a Honeywell crew member parked a smaller Gulfstream plane on the finish of the runway, triggering the SURF-A alert system. After listening to each alerts, the pilot carried out a "go-around" maneuver.

The demonstration simulated a 2023 shut name on the Austin-Bergstrom Worldwide Airport in Austin, Texas. In that situation, a FedEx B767 was cleared to land in poor situations. Because the FedEx airplane obtained nearer, the pilots observed a Southwest Airways B737 lined up on the runway beneath them. The FedEx pilots had been in a position to carry out a last-second go-around maneuver to keep away from a collision, however Honeywell says the SURF-A system, which wasn't round on the time, would have given the pilots a further 28 seconds of discover.

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SURF-A depends on Federal Aviation Administration-mandated expertise referred to as "Sensible X," and it has been round since 2008. It lets pilots know if they're taking off on a taxiway, and if they're coming in for a touchdown too quick or too excessive.

Honeywell began creating the SURF-A system in 2020 when the aviation trade observed extra shut calls occurring on runways. Utilizing "ADS-B" Out expertise, a GPS system that makes an airplane's place recognized to different pilots, engineers had been in a position to decide the trajectory of planes which might be on a collision course.

Engineers on board Honeywell Take a look at Flight 757 have been creating SURF-A since 2020. (Fox Information)

In 2024, the FAA reported 1,664 runway incursions , which is when an plane enters a runway with out clearance. Seven of these concerned two planes on a collision course.

The FAA has reported 657 runway incursions thus far in 2025.

<source media="(min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1023px)" srcset="https://a57.foxnews.com/static.foxnews.com/foxnews.com/content/uploads/2025/08/672/378/all_fs_custom_stats_2_faa_reported_runway_incursions-1.png?ve=1&tl=1, https://a57.foxnews.com/static.foxnews.com/foxnews.com/content/uploads/2025/08/1344/756/all_fs_custom_stats_2_faa_reported_runway_incursions-1.png?ve=1&tl=1 2x" height="378" width="672"><source media="(min-width: 1024px) and (max-width: 1279px)" srcset="https://a57.foxnews.com/static.foxnews.com/foxnews.com/content/uploads/2025/08/931/523/all_fs_custom_stats_2_faa_reported_runway_incursions-1.png?ve=1&tl=1, https://a57.foxnews.com/static.foxnews.com/foxnews.com/content/uploads/2025/08/1862/1046/all_fs_custom_stats_2_faa_reported_runway_incursions-1.png?ve=1&tl=1 2x" height="523" width="931"> The Federal Aviation Administration reported 1,664 runway incursions in 2024. Seven of them concerned planes on a collision course. (Fox Information)

"Shockingly, I believe for lots of passengers, there's not an alert system out there right this moment to let you realize that you simply're about able to run into one other plane on the runway," Thea Feyereisen, Honeywell Aerospace Distinguished Technical Fellow, stated.

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The FAA stated the easiest way to remove runway incursions is to enhance airport infrastructure by including edge lights, pavement markers, signage, and by making taxiways simpler. Since 2021, the FAA has given almost $12 billion to airports throughout the nation to enhance airport infrastructure.

Honeywell engineers say pilots are finally the final line of protection to stop runway incursions. (Fox Information)

Nonetheless, Feyereisen stated pilots are finally the final line of protection.

"Pilots have a shared future on the plane," Feyereisen stated. "The pilot might be doing all the things appropriate, however on a path to catastrophe."

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Honeywell Aerospace is pitching the prototype to major airlines , and hopes to have the system licensed by September. Engineers stated the system may very well be added to industrial flights in early 2026.