Honeywell says its latest Enhanced Ground Proximity Warning System (EGPWS) for helicopters has received technical design and production approval from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

"Honeywell's technology ensures that all helicopter pilots can have EGPWS in their cockpits today to help avoid terrain and obstacles such as towers," said Honeywell's TK Kallenbach. "Our EGPWS systems are specifically engineered for rotary-wing operation and helicopter flight characteristics, and will make helicopters equipped with this technology much safer."

The FAA recently released certification standards for Helicopter Terrain Awareness and Warning Systems (HTAWS) and Honeywell's Mark XXI and XXII Helicopter EGPWS are the first to receive approval that meets the new standard from the FAA.

"Helicopter EGPWS provides superior and potentially life-saving information for flight crews, even when flying in changing weather with poor visibility, in rough terrain, or at low altitudes," Kallenbach said. "More than 1,300 helicopters are already flying with our EGPWS and there have been no controlled flight into terrain (CFIT) incidents with an operational Honeywell EGPWS system on board."

Honeywell's safety systems for helicopters address the challenges of traffic, terrain and weather, helping to ensure safe flight and guard against Controlled Flight Into Terrain (CFIT), weather related hazards, and collisions with obstacles and other aircraft.

Honeywell, which produced the first terrain avoidance system for commercial aircraft, produces a full range of aircraft equipment, including Health Usage Monitoring Systems (HUMS) and integrated primary flight display synthetic vision systems.