Personal Cabin Pressure Monitor Launched

A California-based aviation technology company have launched a new innovation for pilots to detect a possible cabin pressurisation failure in a bit to combat accidents caused by hypoxia. AltAlert, the personal cabin pressure monitor is a simple device that is small and easy to carry, able to be clipped to a belt, shirt pocket or attached to a window via a small suction cup.

The device gives both audible and LED visual alarms to warn the pilot that the cabin altitude is climbing above specified thresholds.

Based on a NASA patent, AltAlert has a battery life of 18 months and was developed using algorithms for consistency and reliability. Four years in development, the monitor is the project of president and CEO of Carlsbad, Stacy Pappas Sawaya, who researched hypoxic-related accidents. She said, “I started researching the number of accidents logged with the NTSB related to pressurization. The Payne Stewart accident was the most highly publicized, but the total number is enormous. It was really just a coincidence that the TBM 900 went down last September; we were finishing up by then. It was yet another example of the need for this device and its lifesaving capabilities.”

The AltAlert device is now publicly available to pilots at many pilot shops at a cost of under $400.