Originally Posted by
Senior Skipper
This year alone, I can think of 2 mid-air collisions. The recent collision in NY, and the two training flights that collided in Florida earlier in the year. Why is TCAS not required for ALL aircraft? In this day and age, there is no reason for 2 planes to collide. Why are we still dependent on the "see and avoid" technique when it is proven to be ineffective?
When this topic comes up, the argument I typically hear is "TCAS is expensive for my private aircraft". This may well be true, but if you can afford to own an aircraft, you can likely afford to spend a few thousand dollars protecting your life and your property from damage in a collision.
I'd also submit that TIS is not an acceptable substitute, as traffic data is not available everywhere, and it depends on ground based information. TCAS is self-contained, and works everywhere.
How many more people need to die before the ICAO / FAA mandate this rule? What do other pilots think?
Do you honestly have any idea how much a TCAS unit costs? Why stop there? Why not mandate every airplane have a parachute? Why not ejection seats? But then again, flying is getting too dangerous. I think people shouldn't be allowed to fly until they have enough experience. See the slide to stupidity?