Inflight Detection of Errors for Enhanced Aircraft Flight Safety Using DTED with GPS and Radar Altimeter

摘要

This paper discusses the integrated architecture of usingrndigital terrain elevation data (DTED) with a kinematicrnGlobal Positioning System (KGPS) and a radar altimeter.rnFlight testing was performed to assess the feasibility of enhanced flight safety. Reasons for enhanced flightrnsafety are twofold: 1) the ad-hoc integration of terrainrnelevation data into the cockpit conceivably may creaternscenarios which lead to accidents because the cockpitrndisplay is quite realistic, and 2) reduction of controlledrnflight into terrain (CFIT). The radar altimeter is thernprinciple sensor used to compare navigation outputs withrnpublicly available DTED. Results show that it is feasiblernto define an operationally useful probability of agreement,rnPa, among KGPS, DTED and the radar altimeter, by usingrna mean-square-difference test statistic. This probability ofrnagreement can be used to warn the pilot if the terrainrndepiction does not agree with the navigation solutionrnprovided by KGPS, thus enhancing flight safety.