Panic buttons could be part of future cockpits | Aviation International News

Panic buttons could be part of future cockpits

Banks have them, and so do many convenience stores and passenger cars.

By Andrew Wood • Contributor

May 29, 2008

Banks have them, and so do many convenience stores and passenger cars. And now it seems that many aircraft will also have “panic buttons” on board, if Aeronautical Radio Inc. (Arinc) has its way. In November the company displayed its security messenger system at an ATC convention in Washington.

Designed for installation in an inaccessible location in the aircraft, the three-pound, nine-inch-long unit, contains a VHF transmitter, GPS receiver and an Acars management unit which, when activated via “panic buttons” on the flight deck and passenger compartment, would transmit security alert messages twice a minute over the VHF Acars frequencies. The tamper-proof, battery-powered device operates independently of aircraft power for up to 15 hr, making it also an autonomous ground-security alerting system when interfaced with fire, intrusion and other sensors.

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