📢 Don Bateman, Trailblazer in Airline Safety, Hemo at 91 🛫💔

Don Bateman, one smart engineer dat wen invent one cockpit device fo’ warn airplane pilots wit’ colorful screen displays an’ loud noises like “Caution Terrain!” and “Pull Up!” 🚨 when dey stay in danger fo’ crashin’ into mountains, buildings, o’ watah – an’ das’ one bigtime innovation dat stay probably saving tousans’ lives – died on May 21 at his home in Bellevue, Wash. He stay 91 years old. 😢

Da cause of his death wen be complications from Parkinson’s disease, according to his daughter Katherine McCaslin. 💔🙏

Dis ting he wen invent, da ground proximity warning system, he wen start workin’ on um in the late 1960s, an’ he keep on improvin’ um till he wen retire from Honeywell International in 2016. Dis system, wen give pilots one warning if dey stay close to land o’ watah and get bad visibility o’ crappy weadah, an’ dat wen be one major cause of airplane deaths back in da day. 🌧️🏔️🏢

Dis kine airplane crash, stay almost not happenin’ anymo’. Accordian’ to data from Boeing ’bout commercial jets all ova da world, from 2011 to 2020, get only six crashes like dat, an’ dat wen kill 229 people. Eh, but from 2001 to 2010, had 17 crashes, an’ dat wen kill 1,007 people, an’ from 1991 to 2000, had 27 crashes, an’ dat wen kill 2,237 people. 😱✈️📊

Charley Pereira, one ex-senior aerospace engineer wit’ da National Transportation Safety Board, wen write in one email dat “Don Bateman an’ his team stay probably savin’ mo’ lives wit’ safety system technologies den anybody else in da history of aviation.” An’ dis guy, he estimate dat da numba stay in da tousans, fo’ real. Pereira wen add, “He wen get one big passion fo’ dis stuff. He stay one engineer all da way, wit’ da pen an’ pencil in da pocket protector. But he wen teach me wat it mean fo’ be one safety engineer.” 👨‍🔧💡🌍

In 2005, Mr. Bateman wen get inducted into da National Inventors Hall of Fame, an’ in 2011, he wen receive da National Medal of Technology and Innovation from President Barack Obama fo’ developing an’ supportin’ “flight-safety sensors, like da ground proximity warning an’ wind-shear detection systems, dat now stay used by ova 55,000 airplanes all ova da world.” 🏅👏🌟✈️

Bob Champion, one scientist from Honeywell who wen work wit’ Mr. Bateman, wen say in one phone interview, “Don, he stay one real champion fo’ savin’ lives. He stay one good guy.” 👨‍🔬👍

Mr. Bateman, he not just one engineer, he also one pilot himself, flyin’ one single-engine Cessna 182. “He neva lose his childlike wonder about flyin’,” Ms. McCaslin said by phone. “He did plenny of his great work from his 40s on. He started flyin’ and runnin’ in his 40s and went on to do 50 marathons. And he had his last child at 54.” 🚁🏃‍♂️👶✈️

Charles Donald Bateman, he wen be born on March 8, 1932, in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. His faddah, George, wen fix watches and own one jewelry store. His maddah, Gladys (Noel) Bateman, wen stay one homemaker. Dey wen divorce aftah World War II. Don’s interest in airline safety wen begin when he was 9 years old, when one of his friends wen look outside deir classroom window in Saskatoon and wen see debris and what look like people falling from da sky. Two military planes, wit’ 10 men inside, wen crash into each oddah. Don an’ his friend wen sneak outta school early and rush to da crash site. 📅🌍🛩️

“I neva seen blood before from one human bein’,” he wen tell The Seattle Times in 2012. “It was horrible.” 😥💔

Aftah he wen graduate from da University of Saskatchewan in 1956 wit’ one bachelor’s degree in electrical and electronics engineering, Mr. Bateman wen work as one TV repair technician and wen own one TV repair shop. He wen get hired by Boeing in 1958, den he wen move to United Control, one aircraft electronics company, two years latah. Da company’s aviation instruments business, dat stay part of Honeywell now. 📺🔧🛩️

Mr. Bateman wen tell da National Science and Technology Medals Foundation in 2011 dat back in da late 1960s, had deadly accidents happenin’ almost every month, when one pilot would “fly into something, like one mountain, o’ go in short on da runway.” At da time, pilots wen use da altimeter, dat measure altitude, terrain charts, and visual cues fo’ avoid accidents. “But in poor visibility and clouds, those cues was less effective,” Dr. Hassan Shahidi, president of da Flight Safety Foundation, wen say in one interview. 🌧️🌫️🚁

Don Bateman, he wen get one strong determination fo’ do somethin’ ’bout dis. He wen develop – an’ in 1974 wen patent – his first ground proximity warning system: one small box dat wen combine data from inside da airplane, including da radar altimeter and airspeed indicator, an’ wen give da pilot one 15-second warning if get one hazardous condition coming up. 🚨🛫📦

Dis device wen start get used in limited capacity in 1971 wen Alaska Airlines Flight 1866 – one Boeing 727 jet dat wen use one early version of da system – wen crash into one fog-covered mountain in da Chilkat range in Alaska, wen it stay try fo’ land in Juneau, da capital. All 111 people on board wen die. 😢❄️🌄

Two weeks latah, Mr. Bateman wen follow da same path of Flight 1866, but he stay inside one small plane wit’ his device. Da alarm wen go off wit’ seconds to spare, givin’ da pilot ’nuff time fo’ fly outta danger. But Mr. Bateman wen realize dat da Alaska Airlines pilot no get ’nuff time fo’ react. 😱✈️🚨

“I wen feel disappointed,” he wen tell Bloomberg.com in 2016. “We wen need fo’ do bettah.” 😔🛬

An’ he wen do bettah. In 1974, da system wen improve plenny, an’ da Federal Aviation Administration (F.A.A.) wen make ’em mandatory fo’ install into all domestic airplanes. Dey wen make dis decision aftah one TWA flight wen crash into one wooded slope in Virginia dat same year, killin’ 92 people. One Congressional panel wen criticize da F.A.A. fo’ delayin’ actions fo’ improve airline safety. ✅🛬📝

In da 1990s, da system wen make one big leap fo’ward. Engineers, workin’ wit’ Mr. Bateman, wen add GPS and critical terrain data, including topographical maps of Eastern Europe and China dat wen get charted by da Soviet Union as far back as da 1920s. Mr. Bateman wen personally acquire dem maps from Russia. “We wen know, as engineers, dat if we wen get da terrain data, we wen can do plenny,” he wen tell The Seattle Times. 🗺️🛰️🚀

One major improvement of da Enhanced Ground Proximity Warning System, o’ EGPWS, stay dat it give pilots one two-minute warning fo’ any obstacles comin’ up. In 2000, aftah plenny major commercial airlines wen start usin’ da system already, da F.A.A. wen make it mandatory fo’ install in all registered turbine-powered airplanes wit’ six o’ mo’ passenger seats. 👨‍✈️📢✈️

Besides Ms. McCaslin, Mr. Bateman stay survived by his wife, Mary (Contreras) Bateman; anoddah daughter, Wendy Bastian; two sons, Greg and Patrick; eight grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren. His marriage to Joan Berney wen end in divorce. One of his sons, Dan, wen die in 1988. 🙏🌹💔

In 2015, Mr. Bateman wen write in Hindsight magazine, one airline safety publication, ’bout six recent incidents dat wen get independently investigated. In dose incidents, da warning system wen prevent major accidents. Fo’ example, in 2014, da crew of one Saab 2000 twin-engine turboprop wen lose control of da airplane near Sumburgh, Scotland, aftah dey no realize da autopilot still stay on aftah one lightning strike. But, as Mr. Bateman wrote, da crew “stay recover from one high rate of descent toward da sea surface aftah EGPWS warnings wen happen.” 🚁🌩️✈️

Don Bateman, one true trailblazer in da world of airline safety, he wen leave behind one legacy dat goin’ be remembered fo’ years to come. He wen use his skills as one engineer and his love fo’ flyin’ to create life-savin’ technologies. We owe him one big debt of gratitude fo’ da thousands of lives he wen save. Rest in peace, Don Bateman. 🙏✈️🌺

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NOW IN ENGLISH

📢 Don Bateman, Trailblazer in Airline Safety, Passed Away at 91 🛫💔

Don Bateman, a brilliant engineer who invented a cockpit device to warn airplane pilots with colorful screen displays and loud noises like “Caution Terrain!” and “Pull Up!” 🚨 when they are in danger of crashing into mountains, buildings, or water – and that’s a groundbreaking innovation that is probably saving thousands of lives – died on May 21 at his home in Bellevue, Washington. He was 91 years old. 😢

The cause of his death was complications from Parkinson’s disease, according to his daughter Katherine McCaslin. 💔🙏

This invention he created, the ground proximity warning system, he started working on it in the late 1960s, and he continued improving it until he retired from Honeywell International in 2016. This system gives pilots a warning if they are close to land or water and have poor visibility or bad weather, which used to be a major cause of airplane deaths in the past. 🌧️🏔️🏢

Such airplane crashes are now almost nonexistent. According to data from Boeing on commercial jets worldwide from 2011 to 2020, there were only six crashes of that kind, resulting in the death of 229 people. However, from 2001 to 2010, there were 17 crashes, causing the death of 1,007 people, and from 1991 to 2000, there were 27 crashes, resulting in the death of 2,237 people. 😱✈️📊

Charley Pereira, a former senior aerospace engineer with the National Transportation Safety Board, wrote in an email, “Don Bateman and his team are probably saving more lives with safety system technologies than anybody else in the history of aviation.” And he estimated that the number is in the thousands. Pereira added, “He had a big passion for this stuff. He was an engineer all the way, with a pen and pencil in the pocket protector. But he taught me what it means to be a safety engineer.” 👨‍🔧💡🌍

In 2005, Mr. Bateman was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame, and in 2011, he received the National Medal of Technology and Innovation from President Barack Obama for developing and supporting “flight-safety sensors, like the ground proximity warning and wind-shear detection systems, that are now used by over 55,000 airplanes worldwide.” 🏅👏🌟✈️

Bob Champion, a scientist from Honeywell who worked with Mr. Bateman, said in a phone interview, “Don was a real champion for saving lives. He was a good guy.” 👨‍🔬👍

Mr. Bateman was not only an engineer, but he was also a pilot himself, flying a single-engine Cessna 182. “He never lost his childlike wonder about flying,” Ms. McCaslin said by phone. “He did a lot of his great work from his 40s on. He started flying and running in his 40s and went on to do 50 marathons. And he had his last child at 54.” 🚁🏃‍♂️👶✈️

Charles Donald Bateman was born on March 8, 1932, in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. His father, George, repaired watches and owned a jewelry store. His mother, Gladys (Noel) Bateman, was a homemaker. They divorced after World War II. Don’s interest in airline safety began when he was 9 years old, after one of his friends looked outside their classroom window in Saskatoon and saw debris and what appeared to be people falling from the sky. Two military planes, with 10 men inside, had crashed into each other. Don and his friend sneaked out of school early and rushed to the crash site. 📅🌍🛩️

“I had never seen blood before from a human being,” he told The Seattle Times in 2012. “It was horrible.” 😥💔

After graduating from the University of Saskatchewan in 1956 with a bachelor’s degree in electrical and electronics engineering, Mr. Bateman worked as a TV repair technician and owned a TV repair shop. He was hired by Boeing in 1958 and then moved to United Control, an aircraft electronics company, two years later. The company’s aviation instruments business is now part of Honeywell. 📺🔧🛩️

Mr. Bateman told the National Science and Technology Medals Foundation in 2011 that in the late 1960s, there were deadly accidents happening almost every month, when a pilot would “fly into something, like a mountain, or go in short on the runway.” At that time, pilots used the altimeter, which measures altitude, terrain charts, and visual cues to avoid accidents. “But in poor visibility and clouds, those cues were less effective,” said Dr. Hassan Shahidi, president of the Flight Safety Foundation, in an interview. 🌧️🌫️🚁

Don Bateman had a strong determination to do something about this. He developed – and in 1974 patented – his first ground proximity warning system: a small box that combined data from inside the airplane, including the radar altimeter and airspeed indicator, and gave the pilot a 15-second warning if there was a hazardous condition coming up. 🚨🛫📦

This device started being used in a limited capacity in 1971 when Alaska Airlines Flight 1866 – a Boeing 727 jet that used an early version of the system – crashed into a fog-covered mountain in the Chilkat range in Alaska while trying to land in Juneau, the capital. All 111 people on board died. 😢❄️🌄

Two weeks later, Mr. Bateman followed the same path as Flight 1866, but he was in a small plane with his device. The alarm went off with seconds to spare, giving the pilot enough time to fly out of danger. But Mr. Bateman realized that the Alaska Airlines pilot did not have enough time to react. 😱✈️🚨

“I felt disappointed,” he told Bloomberg.com in 2016. “We needed to do better.” 😔🛬

And he did better. In 1974, the system was significantly improved, and the Federal Aviation Administration (F.A.A.) made it mandatory to install it in all domestic airplanes. They made this decision after a TWA flight crashed into a wooded slope in Virginia that same year, killing 92 people. A Congressional panel criticized the F.A.A. for delaying actions to improve airline safety. ✅🛬📝

In the 1990s, the system made a big leap forward. Engineers, working with Mr. Bateman, added GPS and critical terrain data, including topographical maps of Eastern Europe and China that had been charted by the Soviet Union as far back as the 1920s. Mr. Bateman personally acquired those maps from Russia. “We knew, as engineers, that if we got the terrain data, we could do a lot,” he told The Seattle Times. 🗺️🛰️🚀

One major improvement of the Enhanced Ground Proximity Warning System, or EGPWS, is that it gives pilots a two-minute warning for any obstacles coming up. In 2000, after many major commercial airlines had already started using the system, the F.A.A. made it mandatory to install in all registered turbine-powered airplanes with six or more passenger seats. 👨‍✈️📢✈️

Besides Ms. McCaslin, Mr. Bateman is survived by his wife, Mary (Contreras) Bateman; another daughter, Wendy Bastian; two sons, Greg and Patrick; eight grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren. His marriage to Joan Berney ended in divorce. One of his sons, Dan, died in 1988. 🙏🌹💔

In 2015, Mr. Bateman wrote in Hindsight magazine, an airline safety publication, about six recent incidents that had been independently investigated. In those incidents, the warning system prevented major accidents. For example, in 2014, the crew of a Saab 2000 twin-engine turboprop lost control of the airplane near Sumburgh, Scotland, after they failed to realize that the autopilot was still on after a lightning strike. But, as Mr. Bateman wrote, the crew “recovered from a high rate of descent toward the sea surface after EGPWS warnings occurred.” 🚁🌩️✈️

Don Bateman, a true trailblazer in the world of airline safety, leaves behind a legacy that will be remembered for years to come. He used his skills as an engineer and his love for flying to create life-saving technologies. We owe him a big debt of gratitude for the thousands of lives he saved. Rest in peace, Don Bateman. 🙏✈️🌺