Traffic Alert And Collision Avoidance System

Also called Traffic Collision Avoidance System (TCAS), the generic term for the active traffic alerting and collision avoidance systems. An airborne collision avoidance system based on radar beacon signals which operates independent of ground-based equipment.

This system installed in an aircraft that detects nearby aircraft and warns the pilot, showing the range, altitude, and course of the impending threat. The TCAS informs the pilot of the appropriate maneuver to use to avoid a collision.

TCAS-I generates traffic advisories only. TCAS-II generates traffic advisories, and resolution (collision avoidance) advisories in the vertical plane. TCAS-III generattes traffic advisories in the vertical and horizontal planes to the pilot.