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Trouble ahead: Flights were grounded when an Icelandic volcano erupted
EasyJet is expected to become the first airline to install in planes a vision-based warning system to detect volcanic ash clouds.
The Norwegian company that has developed the technology has signed over the rights to commercialise it to Israeli aerospace and defence firm Elbit Systems.
Production of the system will begin in 2015, with EasyJet expected to adopt the technology as soon as it is commercially available.
The deal between Norway’s Nicarnica Aviation and Elbit was announced at last month’s Farnborough Airshow. It will see the technology incorporated into Elbit’s Enhanced Vision System aircraft camera product.
Nicarnica’s Airborne Volcanic Object Identifier and Detector system (Avoid) uses two infrared cameras attached to the wings of the aircraft to build up a 3D picture of any ash cloud it detects. The picture is sent to the pilot and to ground control. The technology, which is similar to that used in weather radar, reportedly works between 1,500m and 15,000m above the ground, and can detect ash as far ahead as 100km.
Elbit’s existing Enhanced Vision System is employed in the commercial aviation market to improve visibility in poor weather conditions for landing, taxiing and take-off by use of a thermal imaging camera.
The Avoid system has been in development since 2010, after ash from the Eyjafjallajokull volcano in Iceland grounded flights for weeks in different parts of Europe. Explosive volcanic eruptions in Iceland happen on average once every five years. Ingestion of volcanic ash could cause jet engines to fail.
Dr Fred Prata, chief technical officer at Nicarnica Aviation and the inventor of the Avoid technology, said: “A significant step forward has been taken in realising the first commercial offering of the Avoid system. Our relationship with Elbit Systems ensures that the Avoid system will meet industry standards and will accelerate its commercial development.
“Integration of the system onto the aircraft is the last technical challenge and we expect to see the first aircraft flying with the system in the very near future.”
The technology was tested by Airbus last November in an experiment that involved the creation of an artificial ash cloud.