I went on a test flight showcasing Honeywell's new technology that could prevent airliners from colliding

I flew on a test flight aboard Honeywell's Boeing 757 jet to see new tech that could prevent airliners from colliding on runways — a big issue lately.

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Apr 18, 2025 - 14:49
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I went on a test flight showcasing Honeywell's new technology that could prevent airliners from colliding
The side of a Honeywell Boeing 757 technology test bed with air stairs attached parked on the apron of an airport.
The Honeywell Boeing 757-200 test plane at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport. I took a ride to see the company's new technology designed to eliminate collisions.

Benjamin Zhang/Business Insider

  • Honeywell developed two new systems designed to make takeoffs and landings safer.
  • Surf-A alerts pilots about potential runway collisions.
  • Smart-X lets pilots know if they are taking off or landing on a taxiway instead of a runway.

Honeywell Aerospace Technologies has developed a series of new systems that alert pilots to impending danger during takeoffs and landings. They say the technology could help make aircraft collisions and near-misses a thing of the past

I recently took a demonstration flight aboard Honeywell's Boeing 757 test plane, showcasing its new Surface Alert, or SURF-A, and existing Smart-X systems.

Both systems are built into the plane's avionics software and warn pilots directly, giving them precious extra seconds to react.

"Pilots are our last line of defense. They are the ones who can help mitigate a disaster. These are tools, a third set of eyes to help increase their situational awareness," Thea Feyereisen, a human factors expert who helps lead research and development at Honeywell Aerospace, told Business Insider in an interview.

According to a recent study by Boeing, the minutes surrounding an aircraft's takeoff and landing account for nearly two-thirds of all deadly aviation accidents, but only 6% of a flight's total time.

Here's a closer look at my test flight.

The test flight started with an early morning briefing at the Signature Aviation private jet terminal on the northern edge of Atlanta's international airport.
The front door of Signature FBO at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport.
I met up with the Honeywell team at the Signature FBO in Atlanta.

Benjamin Zhang/Business Insider

The Honeywell team gave us an overview of its new SURF-A tech, which is expected to receive FAA certification next year. The system warns pilots if a plane is already on or about to cross the runway they are approaching.

The flight would also demonstrate their existing Smart-X technology that lets pilots know if they are about to take off or land on a taxiway or if there won't be enough runway to land safely.

Both systems are available as software upgrades on aircraft equipped with Honeywell's popular enhanced ground proximity warning systems, or EGPWS.

After the briefing, we boarded Honeywell's Boeing 757-200 test plane.
The side of a Honeywell Boeing 757 test aircraft parked on the apron at Atlanta's airport.
Here's the Honeywell Boeing 757 waiting for us on the apron at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport.

Benjamin Zhang/Business Insider

The Honeywell jet was the fifth 757 ever to roll off Boeing's assembly line. It entered service with Eastern Airlines in 1983 and was acquired by Honeywell in 2005.

Since joining the Honeywell fleet, the jet has clocked over 4,000 flight hours on more than 1,000 test flights.
The Honeywell Boeing 757-200 test plane at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport.
Here's the starboard side of the Honeywell Boeing 757-200 with the extra engine pylon.

Benjamin Zhang/Business Insider

It's set up to test everything from weather radars and in-flight WiFi to sustainable aviation fuel. The jet has also been fitted with an extra engine pylon on the starboard side of its fuselage to test turbofan and turboprop engines.

After boarding, the Honeywell team gave the passengers a pre-flight safety briefing.
Safety briefing from a Honeywell engineer on the Honeywell Boeing 757 test plane.
The preflight safety briefing is conducted in front of its built-in air stairs.

Benjamin Zhang/Business Insider

Unlike most Boeing 757s, the aircraft features built-in air stairs that can be deployed at airports without the capability of supporting a jetliner of its size.

Here is my seat for the demo flight.
Passenger seats on board the Honeywell Boeing 757 test plane.
These first-class seats were pretty cushy and comfortable.

Benjamin Zhang/Business Insider

Seat 1B is an old-school domestic first-class seat immediately in front of the bulkhead.

In front of the seat is a large LCD screen connected to four cameras in the flight deck.
The Honeywell 757 is preparing to take off at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport.
The Honeywell jet is waiting for a Delta plane to take off so it can pull onto the runway.

Benjamin Zhang/Business Insider

The four cameras let the passengers see the cockpit displays and gave us a pilot's eye view of the flight.

Soon, we were off the ground and en route to an airport in Albany, Georgia, about 180 miles south of Atlanta.
The flight deck of the Honeywell Boeing 757 en route to the flight demonstration.
Here's the Honeywell 757's cockpit as it flies en route to the demonstration.

Benjamin Zhang/Business Insider

The test flight consisted of half a dozen simulated test scenarios, with a Honeywell-owned King Air turboprop test plane serving as the offending aircraft that triggered the safety alerts.

During the short 20-minute flight south, I had the chance to stroll around the cabin.
One of the Honeywell Boeing 757 test plane's Rolls-Royce engines.
With just a handful of occupants on board, our plane bolted down Atlanta's runway like a rocket ship.

Benjamin Zhang/Business Insider

Here's one of the plane's two Rolls-Royce RB211 turbofan engines, each producing a whopping 40,000 lbs of thrust. The 757 has a reputation among pilots for being an absolute hotrod, even when loaded with passengers and cargo.

Further back in the cabin, a group of Honeywell engineers monitored the plane's systems.
Honeywell engineers on board the Honeywell Boeing 757 test plane.
Here are a pair of Honeywell engineers at their workstations in the middle of the cabin.

Benjamin Zhang/Business Insider

Even though this was a demo flight with media, there was still precious data that could be collected.

The first scenario involves a plane on the landing runway.
The Honeywell Surf A system alerting the Honeywell 757 test plane that there's a plane on the runway.
The SURF-A system is alerting the pilots of another plane on the runway.

Benjamin Zhang/Business Insider

SURF-A warned the pilots repeatedly with aural and visual signals about "Traffic on Runway" when it detected the King Air sitting at the end of the runway.

The scenario simulates how the system might have provided additional reaction time in situations like the February 2023 incident, in which a FedEx Boeing 767 cargo plane nearly landed on top of a Southwest Boeing 737 attempting to take off from the same runway in Austin.

The test flight also showed SURF-A alerting when a plane crosses the runway during takeoff.
A photo shows the Honeywell Test Plane alerted by Surf-A attempting to take off when a plane crosses the runway.
Honeywell's SURF-A system is warning the pilots of a plane crossing the runway.

Benjamin Zhang/Business Insider

This scenario is much like the incident from January 2023 when a Delta 737 had to slam on its brakes after an American Airlines jet crossed the runway from which it was trying to take off.

SURF-A is also designed to alert a landing plane if an aircraft is crossing the runway.

It could help prevent incidents like the Southwest Airlines flight that narrowly avoided colliding with a private jet crossing the runway as it descended to land at Midway Airport in Chicago in February.

Honeywell also showed off its Smart-X runway awareness and alerting system, or RAAS.
Honeywell's Smart X system is alerting the Boeing 757 test plane that it is accelerating on a taxiway.
Honeywell Smart X is alerting the test plane that is about to land on a taxiway.

Benjamin Zhang/Business Insider

The system, already on the market, alerted pilots when they tried to take off from and land on a taxiway.

In March, a Southwest Airlines jet mistook a taxiway at Orlando International Airport for a runway and attempted to take off from it. The Boeing 737 accelerated to 70 knots before being ordered by air traffic control to stop.

Smart-X also alerts pilots when their landing approach is at too high an altitude or they've gone too far down the runway to stop safely.
Honeywell's Smart X system alerting the 757 test plane that it's coming in too high for landing.
Smart X is alerting the test plane that it's coming in too high for landing.

Benjamin Zhang/Business Insider

After landing, the system will also call out the maximum distance the pilots have left to stop before the runway ends.

After completing the test scenarios, I had the chance to ride in the cockpit jumpseat for the short flight back.
The flight deck of the Honeywell Boeing 757 test plane from the cockpit jump seat.
Here's my view of the Honeywell 757 flight deck from the cockpit jump seat.

Benjamin Zhang/Business Insider

We touched down safely back in Atlanta on Runway 28, concluding our two-hour-long test flight.

After our flight, the Boeing 757 was refueled and prepped for more demonstrations.
The rear of Honeywell's Boeing 757-200 test plane at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport.
The Honeywell Boeing 757-200 test plane is being readied for another flight.

Benjamin Zhang/Business Insider

The aircraft spent a few days in Atlanta before returning to its base in Phoenix.

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