ATC Watcher
ALWAYS FOLLOW THE RA and never ever manoeuvre against it !
Nearly. I'd be happier if you moved the capitals and said this instead:
"Always follow the RA and NEVER EVER MANOEUVRE AGAINST IT"
I'd be even happier with:
"Follow the RA if you possibly can. If you can't, fly as close to it as you can. Whatever happens NEVER EVER MANOEUVRE AGAINST IT".
To reiterate a point I make every time this accident topic comes up, failing to follow RAs is nowhere near as dangerous as manouevering opposite.
I'm not saying it is a good idea to ignore RAs. It is easily possible to imagine circumstances when fully complying with the RA might be impossible.
In such circumstances it is vital that people retain the 'never manouevre opposite' as the one overriding rule not to be broken.
I always get a little concerned that zooming in on the 'Follow the RA' aspect means that folks miss out on the 'never manoeuvre opposite' message.
My concern then is that when placed in a position where full compliance with an RA is not possible, that a crew are suddenly dumped in a SOP breaking position. Once an SOP is broken, how do you get back into the groove? Very awkward psychologically I would think.
If that makes any kind of sense.
Others,
On the whole traffic display (TD) useage thing. Very briefly: in a collision scenario the best thing to do with it is use it as a tool help you get a visual spot. Once you can see the other aircraft you maybe will have some options for a lateral manouevre. So whilst TCAS attempts to solve the vertical, the back up plan is for a lateral solution by visual spotting or an ATC vector; but NEVER a turn based SOLELY on the TD.
CPB