Message text written by INTERNET:MJKTuck@cs.com
>except for my Terra transponder which last year had me at 14,500 ft when I
was at 3,500 ft. Someone on the Forum suggested I just turn it off then on
again. I tried it and it worked.<
Please, please if you get incorrect height readouts get it fixed asap. The
reason is that these height readouts are used by aircraft fitted with TCAS.
In effect aircraft so fitted will be given pitch demands to avoid any risk
of collision based on position and height given by height encoding
transponders. This is the one time when aircraft will disregard ATC until no
further conflict exists. It is easy to see from this that an aircraft is
sending out an incorrect height readout can cause another aircraft to depart
---From its cleared altitude and even worse may even cause a midair collision.
Better to have mode C turned off rather than on at an incorrect height.
Nigel Charles
Nigel:
Good point! When I left airline work, the newer TCAS instruments
were just coming in, but control tie-in was not there........
That begs the next question for us loners - how does one
discover a fault in altitude reporting figures? No one wants to be part of a
false flight diversion - so how can we avoid the onset? After all, most
modern detectors are ever-vigilant and lightning-quick.
Cheers, Ferg
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