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An electronic centralised aircraft monitoring (ECAM) or electronic centralized aircraft monitoring is a system that monitors aircraft functions and relays them to the pilots. It also produces messages detailing failures and in certain cases, lists procedures to undertake to correct the problem. [1]
ECAM is similar to other systems, known as Engine Indicating and Crew Alerting System (EICAS), used by Boeing, Bombardier, COMAC, Dornier, Embraer, Saab, and Xi'an, Centralized Fault Detection System (CFDS) on McDonnell Douglas, or Engine Warning Display (EWD) on ATR, which display data concerning aircraft systems and also failures. Airbus developed ECAM, such that it not only provided the features of EICAS, but also displayed corrective action to be taken by the pilot, as well as system limitations after the failures. Using a colour-coded scheme the pilots can instantly assess the situation and decide on the actions to be taken. It was designed to ease pilot stress in abnormal and emergency situations, by designing a paperless cockpit in which all the procedures are instantly available.
ECAM is a series of systems designed to work in unison to display information to the pilots in a quick and effective manner. Sensors placed throughout the aircraft, monitoring key parameters, feed their data into two System Data Acquisition Concentrator (SDACs) which in turn process the data and feed it to two Flight Warning Computers (FWCs). The FWCs check for discrepancies in the data and then display the data on the ECAM displays through the three Display Management Computers (DMCs). In the event of a fault the FWCs generate the appropriate warning messages and sounds. More vital systems are routed directly through the FWCs such that failures in them can still be detected even with the loss of both SDACs. The whole system can continue to operate even with a failure of one SDAC and one FWC.
Failures are classed by importance ranging from level 1 failures to level 3 failures. In the event of simultaneous failures the most critical failure is displayed first. The warning hierarchy is as follows:
In addition to the three failure levels are following status messages:
Some alternatives are:
Airbus-developed jetliners have ECAM since the A300-600 and A310.
The Airbus A220 has EICAS, as it was originally a Bombardier product.
The Qantas Flight 32 engine failure generated more than 80 ECAM alerts, whose treatment took over an hour to complete. [2]
The A350 and A380 are the only Airbus-developed jetliners with fully integrated checklists.
Avionics are the electronic systems used on aircraft. Avionic systems include communications, navigation, the display and management of multiple systems, and the hundreds of systems that are fitted to aircraft to perform individual functions. These can be as simple as a searchlight for a police helicopter or as complicated as the tactical system for an airborne early warning platform.
Fly-by-wire (FBW) is a system that replaces the conventional manual flight controls of an aircraft with an electronic interface. The movements of flight controls are converted to electronic signals transmitted by wires, and flight control computers determine how to move the actuators at each control surface to provide the ordered response. Implementations either use mechanical flight control backup systems or else are fully electronic.
A cockpit or flight deck is the area, on the front part of an aircraft or spacecraft, from which a pilot controls the aircraft.
A glass cockpit is an aircraft cockpit that features an array of electronic (digital) flight instrument displays, typically large LCD screens, rather than traditional analog dials and gauges. While a traditional cockpit relies on numerous mechanical gauges to display information, a glass cockpit uses several multi-function displays and a primary flight display driven by flight management systems, that can be adjusted to show flight information as needed. This simplifies aircraft operation and navigation and allows pilots to focus only on the most pertinent information. They are also popular with airline companies as they usually eliminate the need for a flight engineer, saving costs. In recent years the technology has also become widely available in small aircraft.
A full authority digital enginecontrol (FADEC) is a system consisting of a digital computer, called an "electronic engine controller" (EEC) or "engine control unit" (ECU), and its related accessories that control all aspects of aircraft engine performance. FADECs have been produced for both piston engines and jet engines.
An engine-indicating and crew-alerting system (EICAS) is an integrated system used in modern aircraft to provide aircraft flight crew with instrumentation and crew annunciations for aircraft engines and other systems. On EICAS equipped aircraft the "recommended remedial action" is called a checklist.
Air Transat Flight 236 was a transatlantic flight bound for Lisbon, Portugal, from Toronto, Canada, that lost all engine power while flying over the Atlantic Ocean on August 24, 2001. The Airbus A330 ran out of fuel because of a fuel leak caused by improper maintenance. Captain Robert Piché, 48, an experienced glider pilot, and First Officer Dirk DeJager, 28, glided the plane to a successful emergency landing in the Azores, saving all 306 people on board. Most of the passengers on the flight were Canadians visiting Europe or Portuguese expatriates returning to visit family in Portugal. This was also the longest passenger aircraft glide without engines, gliding for nearly 75 miles. Following this unusual aviation accident, this aircraft was nicknamed the "Azores Glider".
In aviation, an electronic flight instrument system (EFIS) is a flight instrument display system in an aircraft cockpit that displays flight data electronically rather than electromechanically. An EFIS normally consists of a primary flight display (PFD), multi-function display (MFD), and an engine indicating and crew alerting system (EICAS) display. Early EFIS models used cathode ray tube (CRT) displays, but liquid crystal displays (LCD) are now more common. The complex electromechanical attitude director indicator (ADI) and horizontal situation indicator (HSI) were the first candidates for replacement by EFIS. Now, however, few flight deck instruments cannot be replaced by an electronic display.
S7 Airlines Flight 778(S7778/SBI778) was a scheduled domestic passenger flight from Moscow to Irkutsk, Russia. On 9 July 2006, at 06:44 local time, the Airbus A310-324 aircraft operating the route overran the runway during its landing in Irkutsk. The aircraft failed to stop and crashed through the airport's concrete perimeter fence, struck rows of private garages and burst into flames, killing 125 people.
An Air Data Inertial Reference Unit (ADIRU) is a key component of the integrated Air Data Inertial Reference System (ADIRS), which supplies air data and inertial reference information to the pilots' electronic flight instrument system displays as well as other systems on the aircraft such as the engines, autopilot, aircraft flight control system and landing gear systems. An ADIRU acts as a single, fault tolerant source of navigational data for both pilots of an aircraft. It may be complemented by a secondary attitude air data reference unit (SAARU), as in the Boeing 777 design.
An annunciator panel, also known in some aircraft as the Centralized Warning Panel (CWP) or Caution Advisory Panel (CAP), is a group of lights used as a central indicator of status of equipment or systems in an aircraft, industrial process, building or other installation. Usually, the annunciator panel includes a main warning lamp or audible signal to draw the attention of operating personnel to the annunciator panel for abnormal events or condition.
Qantas Flight 72 (QF72) was a scheduled flight from Singapore Changi Airport to Perth Airport by an Airbus A330. On 7 October 2008, the flight made an emergency landing at Learmonth Airport near the town of Exmouth, Western Australia, following an inflight accident that included a pair of sudden, uncommanded pitch-down manoeuvres that caused severe injuries—including fractures, lacerations and spinal injuries—to several of the passengers and crew. At Learmonth, the plane was met by the Royal Flying Doctor Service of Australia and CareFlight. Fourteen people were airlifted to Perth for hospitalisation, with thirty-nine others also attending hospital. In all, one crew member and eleven passengers suffered serious injuries, while eight crew and ninety-nine passengers suffered minor injuries. The Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) investigation found a fault with one of the aircraft's three air data inertial reference units (ADIRUs) and a previously unknown software design limitation of the Airbus A330's fly-by-wire flight control primary computer (FCPC).
Air France Flight 447 (AF447/AFR447) was a scheduled international passenger flight from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, to Paris, France. On 1 June 2009, inconsistent airspeed indications and miscommunication led to the pilots inadvertently stalling the Airbus A330. They failed to recover the plane from the stall, and the plane crashed into the mid-Atlantic Ocean at 02:14 UTC, killing all 228 passengers and crew on board.
Brake to Vacate (BTV) is additional software planned by Airbus for incorporation on its line of airliners, intended to reduce runway overruns. A more tangible benefit is the increased ability to exit the runway at a specified turnoff point. The European Aviation Safety Agency certified the system, initially for use on the Airbus A380, in 2009. The second Airbus product to incorporate BTV will be the Airbus A320 family, which is much more widely used around the world than the A380. However, an A320 BTV system would be more modest, since its flight computer does not incorporate the extensive electronic architecture of the A380. The BTV is a very important part in the plane.
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Loganair Flight 6780 was a scheduled domestic flight from Aberdeen Airport to Sumburgh Airport in the Shetland Islands, Scotland. On 15 December 2014, the Saab 2000 operating the flight was struck by lightning during the approach, and then plunged faster than the aircraft's maximum operating speed. The aircraft came within 1,100 feet (340 m) of the North Sea before the pilots recovered and returned to Aberdeen. All 33 passengers and crew were unharmed.
Hop-A-Jet Flight 823 was a chartered U.S. domestic flight operated by Hop-A-Jet from Ohio State University Airport in Columbus, Ohio, to Naples Airport in Naples, Florida. Shortly before landing on February 9, 2024, the pilots reported a dual engine failure and attempted to land on Interstate 75. The aircraft, a Bombardier Challenger 604, was destroyed and consumed by a post-crash fire. Both pilots were killed, but the two passengers and the sole flight attendant on board survived.
