ST3400 TAWS/RMI Who Needs It?

The FAA answer is mandated aircraft owners/operators.

The real answer is you.

If you fly single-pilot IFR, you deserve the tremendous safety benefit from the ST3400 TAWS.

It is well documented that as a pilot you have 10 to 100 times the probability of hitting the ground unexpectedly than you do hitting another aircraft in mid-air. This sobering fact is based on actual accident statistics. And one additional benefit of ST3400 TAWS is hard to quantify - the ability to see in real-time the underlying terrain during an in-flight emergency where you may be forced to descend.

Benefits

The ST3400 is more than the sum of its parts. Its unique benefit is that it is the only TAWS display which is a primary display that sits directly in the pilot's field of view. It is in the combination of a primary terrain display and the TAWS TSO'd alerting functions that the ST3400 gains its great power. It is not time-shared with weather radar or other MFD functions. It gives a continuous, advance view of the terrain ahead which pushes decision making earlier and potentially far before any alert might actually occur.

The safety benefit of placement of the terrain
display in the primary instrument cluster.

Who are the Mandated Owners?

The FAA has mandated that essentially all turbine aircraft be TAWS equipped by March, 2005, as follows:

FAA TAWS Requirement by Type of Operation

If you own or operate a turbine aircraft, most probably you are affected by this mandate. But even if you don't, you may still want to consider the safety implications of having a system which at all times continually monitors for unsafe flight conditions.

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