NASA testing two new plane taxi systems
            Technology could save time, money and lives
                  August 29, 1997 10:56 p.m. EDT
     ATLANTA -- NASA and the Federal Aviation Administration got to-
 gether this week in Atlanta to test some new technology that could
 save airline passengers thousands of wasted hours and airlines
 millions of dollars.
     Although it sounds like it was named for the space agency that
 developed it, "T-NASA" is actually an acronym for "Taxiway Naviga-
 tion and Situation Awareness System."
     The program is designed to act as an electronic road map for
 pilots. It can help pilots navigate their planes through bad wea-
 ther, taxi at unfamiliar airports or large, complex ones, and
 pinpoint potential danger zones.
     Pilots using the program get a "heads-up" display on a glass
 visor on their cockpit windshield. An electronic animated map of
 the airport pinpoints the plane's position, as well as the location
 of other aircraft.
    "The view from the heads-up display maps conform onto the view
 of the real world out of the cockpit. So it looks like, essentially,
 they're laying down a yellow brick road to follow through the fog,"
 said NASA research assistant Dave Graeber.
     Warnings sound if danger looms -- for example, if a plane ob-
 scured by heavy snow or fog is directly in the pilot's path.
     Outside of bad-weather scenarios, researchers say T-NASA can
 also help pilots taxi more efficiently, saving passengers time.
     The system uses global positioning satellites and an airport
 layout to display a virtual road map for the pilot. As the plane
 taxis, virtual cones and signs move and change, guiding the pilot
 to his terminal.
     Along with T-NASA, the FAA is also testing "ROTO," which stands
 for "roll out -- turn off." The guidance system, developed by NASA's
 Langley Research Center, uses different software, but much the same
 hardware as T-NASA.
     NASA's Dave Foyle says the integrated system could save $6
 million to $10 million a year per airport if it helps reduce con-
 gestion at U.S. airports, where traffic is expected to increase by
 a third over the next decade. "And there are 200 major airports in
 the U.S.," Foyle noted.
     The payoff in increased safety could be even greater.
     "Last year alone, there were almost 300 surface incidents re-
 ported at airports. This is a 10-year high," said Steve Young, of
 NASA Langley Research Center. "A system like this has the potential
 to greatly reduce the number of surface incidents."
     NASA would not disclose its cost estimates for the T-NASA and
 ROTO programs. But if the space agency's predictions of reduced
 costs and increased safety at airports prove accurate, the new
 technology could pay for itself.
 --------------------------------
         ine killed in plane crash in Colombia
 30 August 1997
 Web posted at: 18:46 ART, Buenos Aires time (21:46 GMT)
 BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) A small commercial plane crashed in a jungle
 Friday just minutes short of landing in a remote town on the
 Venezuelan border, killing all nine people aboard, authorities
 said.
 The Satena airways PC-6, originating in San Felipe, reported an
 emergency and then crashed just three miles from the airport in
 Puerto Inirida, 400 miles east of Bogota, said the state-run
 carrier's director, German Castro.
 The victims included seven Colombians and two Ecuadorians, the
 airline said.
 Satena, which flies passengers to Colombia's remotest regions,
 said search and rescue efforts were conducted by police and
 soldiers.
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