FAA Finishes Flight Crew Alerting Rule

The US Federal Aviation Administration has finalised a new rule that delineates the colours that can be used for warning, caution and advisory alert indications in the cockpit for new transport category aircraft to be certificated after 3 January 2011.

Although de facto standards are in place regarding the alerts generated by advanced glass cockpit avionics systems, the FAA says each manufacturer must gain approval through FAA-written issue papers and special conditions, processes that require "additional work" for the agency.

Baseline regulations were issued in 1977 and "have never been amended", says the FAA in the final rule. The FAA issued the preliminary rule in July 2009.

Alert colours on the flightdeck for future new aircraft will have red for warnings, amber or yellow for cautions and any colour except red, amber, yellow or green for advisory alerts. Weather, terrain or traffic displays may still use the four colours, but "must not adversely affect flightcrew alerting", says the FAA.   READ MORE:    FlightGlobal