Latest News
EGNOS safe enough for aviation
- The European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service (Egnos) has been accepted by the European Commission as precise enough that it may now be used as a navigational tool by aircraft and helicopter pilots.
The system can tell planes and helicopters where they are and how high they are to within a couple of yards according to a report originating from the BBC on 3 March.
The system was certified Wednesday for "safety of life" applications, meaning its performance is of a high enough standard that pilots can reliably use it as a navigation tool.
While airliners landing at major international airports usually rely on ground technologies to guide them on their approach to a runway, Egnos will be able to assist help with some final approach phases and in improving positioning of aircraft en route. It should prove to be of even greater importance at smaller airports where ground navigation infrastructure is not as advanced as at major airports.
Initial operations were begun in 2005 as a joint project the European Commission, the European Space Agency and Eurocontrol. Egnos is made up of three geostationary stellites and a network of ground stations that receive GPS signals, analyses and corrects errors before transmitting updated data to the users.
