Original Title: On value and using of TAWS/FMS alert data in examination of air accidents, the case of Warsaw-Smolensk flight on 10 April 2010. Polish Title: O wartości i wykorzystaniu danych TAWS/FMS do badania wypadków lotniczych, sprawa lotu Warszawa-Smoleńsk, 10 kwietnia 2010 roku

Abstract

Through an analysis of TAWS/FMS data collected and registered during the last minute of TU-154M aircraft flight from Warsaw to Smolensk, we show the value and existence of space for undertaking research works on enhancing standard functionality of TAWS/FMS systems to enable their effective use in examination of the course and causes of air accidents. The flight ended up in the total destruction of the aircraft and the death of all passengers and crew on board. The TAWS/FMS flight altitudes and spatio-temporal data, i.e. geographical location and speed of the aircraft motion, were inspected for their internal and external consistency with the data from the ATM QAR service recorder. Using the data from ATM QAR, records from the cockpit voice recorder (CVR), jointly with data from the TAWS/FMS systems, it was possible to reconstruct the most probable horizontal and vertical trajectory of the TU- 154M aircraft during the last minute of flight before its complete destruction, as well as the likely scenario of accompanying events. The data available from recorders enabled the authors to gain information on the preliminary stage of the course of accident, and the first phase of the aircraft’s destruction, resulting in serious damage of the left wing of the aircraft. Enhanced standard functionality of TAWS/FMS systems, incorporating use of their data in the post-accident situations examination, would have improved results and simplified the present analysis considerably.