NTSB recommends anti-collision technology for taxiing aircraft

Washington – The Federal Aviation Administration should require large aircraft to be equipped with anti-collision technology, such as external cameras, to reduce wing collision risk while taxiing, according to a recommendation (.pdf file) from the National Transportation Safety Board.

Anti-collision cameras allow pilots to view the aircraft’s wings from the cockpit, an NTSB press release stated. Without the cameras, pilots need to look out the cockpit windows to see the wings.

The board is investigating three recent taxiing collision incidents in which a large aircraft’s wing tip collided with another aircraft. Preliminary results indicate it would have been “impractical” for the pilots in each incident to have looked out the cockpit windows to view the wings while taxiing, NTSB said.