My comapny's SOP
At my company, the SOP is to ALWAYS FOLLOW THE TCAS RA, except in cases of windshear, terrain warnings, and stall warnings. We are to follow the RA, and as soon as practical, inform ATC of the RA maneuver.
THIS INCLUDES FLIGHT IN VMC WHERE THE OFFENDING TRAFFIC IS IN SIGHT. (Is what you're looking at really the conflicting traffic, or is there another aircraft out there that you don't see, that's about to hit you!!!!)
The logic is this: The RA is a coordination between two aircraft with TCAS. The two TCAS computers have identified a conflict and have devised a resolution. Failure of one aircraft to follow the plan...will screw things up...since nobody tells the TCAS computer of aircraft #2 that the pilot(s) of aircraft #1 has decided to do his own thing.
At my company, several years ago, there was a major $%%^&. One of our flights was departing a Florida airport...climbing out...received a TCAS RA. The flight was in IMC. They followed the RA...as per SOP...but, immediately afterward, got a second RA. They followed it, as per SOP, as well.
At first thought, one would assume that the second RA was due to the following of the first RA. After the BIG investigation, it was determined that the controller, that morning, suffered from a major brain fXrt...and the two conflicts were real...and the second one was not due to the crew following the RA of the first conflict...it was the real thing, too.
Now, the crew figured they were having a bad day, too. What's up with getting two RAs...one right after the other...in IMC!!!!!
Thank God, these guys followed the SOP! Otherwise, we'd be doing a 'coulda, shoulda, woulda' analysis on PPrune!
PantLoad