Rotorcraft
Tcas II Integrated into EC225’s Autopilot

Eurocopter has integrated a Tcas II into the EC225 medium twin helicopter’s autopilot, meaning pilot input is not needed for emergency avoidance maneuvers. In the event of conflicting trajectories and after a traffic alert without any resulting pilot action, the Tcas II will issue a resolution advisory (RA) and the autopilot will react immediately by commanding a climb or descent to ensure safe separation. It will then return the helicopter to its original altitude. Asked about the benefits of such additional automation, Eurocopter emphasized that RAs are rare events and pilots are inadequately conditioned to react to them. As a result they sometimes overreact, possibly evading severely enough to trigger a second RA.

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