Obstruction Lighting Is An Essential Part Of Preventing Aviation Collisions

By Cornelia White


Aviation obstruction lighting initially made an appearance on large structures of assorted kinds in the 1930s. Because of the advent of regular night time flights, it soon came to be a total necessity. In an effort to protect essential equipment, ground personnel and the lives of pilots, warning programs were put in place. Subsequently, enforcement regulations, effective methods and strict rules will continue to be created to assure the protection of everyone concerned.

Essentially, obstruction illumination simply involves signal lights to deter collisions between planes and numerous objects on the earth. For instance, television, cell phone and radio towers are intended to be more noticeable through the employment of devices that produce high-intensity illumination. While these illumination systems are most prominent when used during the night, they will also be utilized on many taller structures throughout the daytime too.

While people on the ground may normally not give it much thought, there are a multitude of hazardous objects that pilots must contend with on a daily basis. In addition to communications towers, there are various other objects that need to be avoided including overly tall buildings, industrial chimney smokestacks and wind turbines. Even some smaller structures require lights when near airports where airplanes fly very low.

Numerous procedures for practices are introduced by the International Civil Aviation Organization. By and large, their guidelines are accepted globally. With a program of logical regulations, it is less difficult to protect public safety, prevent dangerous collisions and enforce compliance. By working with the same sets of operations internationally, misunderstandings are significantly decreased.

Over the years, many different light systems have been developed. The type of system used can vary widely depending on each separate application. Some obstructions may only require one single beacon lamp. It may be necessary for larger hazards to be equipped with a number of lights placed in specific configurations. In many cases, a pilot will be able to determine the actual type, as well as the height, of a potentially dangerous object.

These signal beacon devices can be powered by a multitude of light sources. In the past few years, LED technologies have been applied widely throughout the aviation warning industry. Nevertheless, some facilities still depend on lamps which include metal halide, high pressure sodium or common incandescent types. At any rate, they are all exclusively designed to ensure sufficient reliability, high intensity and adequate longevity.

Typically, these beacons will likely be mainly red or white. The coloration is usually determined by a mix of factors that will involve structure type, particular location and overall height. A white-colored light would possibly not be advised in certain urban areas, because it can merge with commercial and domestic background sources. Still, they are frequently used widely in many rural environments.

It is a prerequisite for high structures to possess obstruction lighting that is compliant to standardized regulations. The standards are essential to provide ease of navigation, basic public safety and safe flying conditions. These systems are definitely vital in avoiding potential life threatening injuries, heavy economic losses and severe property damage.




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