Garmin’s Runway Safety Tech Gets FAA Certification

Garmin has announced the certification of its Runway Occupancy Awareness (ROA) technology, designed to enhance runway safety. This new software integrates Garmin's Surface Indications and Alert (SURF-IA) technology to improve situational awareness and prevent runway incursions. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has granted initial certification for this system on the G1000 NXi-equipped Cessna Caravan.

“With the rate of runway incursions increasing, there is a real need for increased safety tools in the cockpit. Equipping pilots with this technology can reduce the risk of runway incursions and help provide confidence for pilots navigating busy and complex airports,” said Phil Straub, Executive Vice President and Managing Director of Aviation, Garmin.

ROA uses Automatic Dependent Surveillance–Broadcast (ADS-B) traffic data to alert flight crews about potential incursions involving nearby airborne aircraft, ground-based aircraft, and vehicles. By analyzing aircraft GPS and ADS-B traffic data relevant to runways and taxiways, the system assesses and warns of possible incursions or collisions.

The ROA system provides visual alerts on the pilot’s primary flight display (PFD), using Garmin's Synthetic Vision Technology (SVT) to color-code the runway based on threat levels—yellow for caution and red for warning. Similar notifications are displayed on the SafeTaxi map on the multifunction display. Both visual and aural alerts are issued, ranging from no immediate collision hazard to warnings indicating a potential collision risk within 15 seconds.

This technology builds on Garmin's existing terminal safety solutions, such as the Runway Overrun Awareness and Alerting System (ROAAS), Garmin SafeTaxi, and Garmin SurfaceWatch, all of which work together to enhance situational awareness and reduce runway and taxiway hazards.

Garmin anticipates receiving FAA certification for ROA on the G5000 STC, which covers the Cessna Citation Excel, XLS, XLS+, and XLS Gen2 models, by September 2024. The company also expects to certify the technology for additional Garmin-equipped aircraft in the coming months.

“ROA technology is an important step forward in enhancing runway safety, It builds upon our previous solutions to provide comprehensive situational awareness, helping pilots to avoid potential conflicts on the runway and taxiways,” added Straub.