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George B. Litchford Sr., 89, Aviation Inventor, Is DeadGeorge B. Litchford Sr., a prolific aviation inventor who had a vital role in the development of the collision warning system now used on every airliner in the United States, died on Feb. 28 in Albany. He was 89 and had lived most of his life in Northport, N.Y. His death was confirmed by his son, George B. Litchford Jr. Mr. Litchford began working in navigation and surveillance technologies for airplanes in 1941 at Sperry Gyroscope Research Labs and was still at it 50 years later. One of his insights was that hardware already on planes that help controllers on the ground keep track of them could also be used in an anticollision system. The equipment is called a transponder. A rotating radar system operated by the Federal Aviation Administration sends out electronic queries that planes answer with their transponders, robot radios that give the plane’s identity and altitude. By taking note of the precise timing of the signal, the system can determine the plane’s location as well. Mr. Litchford worked for years on elements of the system that eventually became the Traffic Alert and Collision Avoidance System. Congress required that the system be installed on all passenger planes after an Aeromexico DC-9 collided with a private plane near Los Angeles in August 1986, killing 82 people. “He was an industry leader in developing one of the most significant aviation safety systems ever designed,” said John Cox, a safety consultant and former safety official at the Air Line Pilots Association. Mr. Litchford also patented a method for a receiver on the ground to eavesdrop on airplanes answering the F.A.A. radar. A company that licensed that method, Passur (then called MegaData), used it to track the last moments of T.W.A. 800, the Boeing 747 that exploded off the Long Island coast en route to Paris from New York in 1996. The company now operates the system in 90 locations worldwide, covering 150 airports. Airlines use the data to track their arrivals, and airports use it to identify flights that violate noise regulations by flying at times or in places that are forbidden. Mr. Litchford also worked for the Navy on a landing system for aircraft carriers and on equipment to help civilian planes land in low visibility. Mr. Litchford was a fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics. Besides his son, of Albany, he is survived by a daughter, Jane Ellis Litchford, of Salem, Mass.; and a brother, Donn, of Portland, Ore. Tag CloudExternal InformationAdditional InformationThe Nature of Politics (1 Letter)...In the West, a Fierce Battle Over Wolves... Study Identifies Dinosaur Protein... Treatments: Talking Out the Choices for Breast Cancer Surgery... Where Am I?News Main Page - Business - George B. Litchford Sr., 89, Aviation Inventor, Is Dead |
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