FAA asks Denver airlines to stop disabling collision-avoidance alerts

(Title was modified for HN to make it less clickbait.)

The crux of the story is that the procedures into two closely-spaced runways in Denver result in an unacceptable number of TCAS[0] false alarms. Pilots are disabling TCAS because they are not permitted to overrule it, which is creating its own set of problems. From the article:

Despite the string of joint government-industry initiatives — ranging from enhanced data collection to slightly revised landing approaches to new rules for air traffic controllers — the FAA’s safety warning highlights persistent federal worries about close calls near DIA.

Specifically, the agency said it is “concerned about the continued high level” of alerts during approaches to the specific pair of Denver runways “because of the potential for increased risk of near-midair and midair collisions.” Pilots typically are required to react to computer-generated avoidance commands in seconds.

Turning off that feature, however, poses major hazards. The FAA is warning pilots they could inadvertently forget to fully turn the system back on if they have to abort a landing, go around for another approach and then merge back into busy air traffic.

Flight crews also could be “desensitized” to collision alerts, according to the FAA, “inside and outside” of Denver airport operations, “which may lead to other erroneous” responses.

[0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Traffic_collision_avoidance_sy...