Non-tactical aircraft don't really have radars like this to spot other planes.
TCAS exists and can provide collision warnings and some degree of information on where other aircraft are using secondary radar data, but it's very much a last line of defense.
Both planes are expected to see each other, and they're also expected to hear each other on the radio.
I was just on a 12-seater Cessna Caravan that had some sort of collision warning system, because I heard it alarm. It also had a graphic of the approaching aircraft’s relative position.
Would an A320 not have a similar system? Likewise, both pilots physically moved their heads to scan both directions of the runway for hazards. I’m just confused why the big boys wouldn’t be more sophisticated than this.
> I was just on a 12-seater Cessna Caravan that had some sort of collision warning system, because I heard it alarm. It also had a graphic of the approaching aircraft’s relative position.
Yes, it's called TCAS / TCAS II (mentioned). Or portable systems called PCAS for the smallest planes.
Alerts are generally disabled on the ground, and .. there's a lot of technical factors that limit its usefulness in this scenario.
> Likewise, both pilots physically moved their heads to scan both directions of the runway for hazards. I’m just confused why the big boys wouldn’t be more sophisticated than this.
A careful, visual scan is essential. But when you have oncoming fast aircraft, convergence rates are fast. They were 8-9nm apart, at night, when the A320 started its takeoff roll.
There's basically 3 defenses against this scenario at an untowered airport:
- Weakest: hopefully both aircraft pick the same runway direction. There's a "calm wind" runway for this reason. But when winds are 0 and not quite calm, do they agree?
- Stronger, but problematic-- unicom: aircraft are supposed to announce their intents and listen on a common frequency. If someone has the wrong frequency tuned, that won't work.
- Strongest: visual avoidance. That happened late here, and triggered an overreaction in this case.
The A320 would have TCAS. The King Air would have a transponder. TCAS interrogates transponders. So, in flight, the A320 would "see" the King Air and the TCAS would issue traffic and resolution advisories.
Lots of GA aircraft have TCAS-like systems, where they listen to secondary radar responses from other transponders. So, when airliners or ATC interrogates planes, these other planes hear the responses. And, of course, ADS-B makes all of this easier and more precise.
But in any case, TCAS is not designed to prevent a runway conflict. It doesn't know about flight intentions: that the Airbus is going to be climbing a bunch soon.
Not just an airliner thing; my dad's four seater Grumman will start squawking at you if another plane is too close. ADS-B became a requirement in general aviation in the US on Jan 1, 2020.
Yes. I would suspect that a King Air owner is fairly likely to have sprung for something like Foreflight and a Stratus, at least, but in either case the A320 is likely to have had reasonably good information on the King Air's altitude and heading.
Yup. But 8 miles out, descending in your general direction, isn't a clear signal that they're planning on landing straight in on the opposite runway from where you'll be taking off.
TCAS exists and can provide collision warnings and some degree of information on where other aircraft are using secondary radar data, but it's very much a last line of defense.
Both planes are expected to see each other, and they're also expected to hear each other on the radio.