Synthetic vision information system

Data from the Flight Safety Foundation (FSF) shows that the hull-loss accident rate for commercial jet transports during the last two decades has essentially remained constant at around 1.5 accidents per million departures. If the air traffic volume doubles as expected in the next decade, the absolute number of accidents will increase, even if the current low accident rate remains low. Public perception of flight safety is generally based on the absolute number of accidents and not accident rates. Therefore reduction of the accident rate such that the actual number of accidents decreases must be a primary goal; otherwise the predicted costs and loss of life are not likely to be tolerable by the industry or traveling public. This paper details Rockwell Collins efforts in the NASA Synthetic Vision Information System Program to address these accidents. The improvement in situational awareness and reduction in pilot workload resulting from these synthetic vision displays should allow aircrews to avoid landing short, flying too close to terrain, or blundering onto an active runway. These systems can also aid aircrews in re-planning en route and in the crucial final approach segment, by providing intuitive guidance cues to reduce pilot workload and improve performance. Furthermore, these guidance cues allow pilots to compensate for mistakes made at the strategic level.