Phoenix Aims to Prevent Airport Collisions with Ground Vehicles

Honeywell Aerospace and the City of Phoenix are collaborating on a new technology to prevent collisions between aircraft and airport vehicles. The SURF-A technology uses GPS and ADS-B data to pinpoint potential collision locations, alerting operators with both auditory and visual warnings.

Thea Feyereisen from Honeywell Aerospace said that this system can alert operators up to seven to 10 seconds earlier than air traffic control, giving them a crucial window of time to avoid accidents. This technology will be tested at three airports in the Phoenix area: Phoenix Sky Harbor, Deer Valley, and Goodyear.

The project was inspired by a recent incident at LaGuardia airport in New York, where an Air Canada regional jet collided with an aviation fire truck. Feyereisen emphasized that vehicle drivers are also at risk when operating on runways and should receive direct alerts to help prevent collisions.