The Nation - News from Jan. 6, 1989

The Federal Aviation Administration, ending years of research and controversy, issued a requirement for large air transport planes to have devices that warn a pilot of an impending collision. All commercial jetliners with 30 or more seats will have to have the device, known as T-CAS, by December 30, 1991. For some time, the FAA has let it be known it was preparing such a requirement. Several airlines have been using T-CAS units on a test basis on a smallnumber of planes for more than a year. Transportation Secretary James H. Burley IV called installation of the collision avoidance technology in aircraft “one of the most significant safety initiatives in recent years.”