Newsletter
ES
Sign in

Aviation glossary

TAWS

Terrain Awareness and Warning System · Also: GPWS, EGPWS, ground proximity warning system

Safety

Onboard system that gives pilots visual and aural alerts when the aircraft’s flight path brings it dangerously close to terrain or obstacles.

What it is

It protects against controlled flight into terrain (CFIT): situations in which a perfectly serviceable aircraft under full control is flown towards the ground without the crew realising, for instance because of confusion over its position during an approach in poor visibility.

Its predecessor, the ground proximity warning system (GPWS), became widespread from the 1970s. It uses the radio altimeter, vertical speed and aircraft configuration to issue alerts such as ‘Sink rate’, ‘Too low, gear’ or ‘Terrain, terrain’, and the command ‘Pull up’ when an immediate climb is needed. Its limitation was that it could only sense what lay directly beneath the aircraft.

TAWS, also known as enhanced GPWS, adds a worldwide terrain and obstacle database and satellite positioning, so it looks ahead: it warns in good time of high ground on the flight path and paints it on the displays in colours that show relative height. ICAO requires it on turbine aircraft above a certain weight or seating capacity, and its adoption sharply reduced this type of occurrence.

Related terms

TCASOnboard system that interrogates the transponders of nearby aircraft and, if it detects a collision risk, tells the pilots to climb or descend. ApproachThe phase of flight in which the aircraft lines up with the runway and descends along a defined path to the point where the crew decides to land or go around. DescentThe phase in which an aircraft leaves its cruising level and loses height in a controlled way until the start of the approach to its destination. Glass cockpitFlight deck in which most dial instruments are replaced by electronic screens that combine flight, navigation and systems information.
Whole glossary

Cite

To cite this page in academic work, an article or Wikipedia, choose the style and copy the reference. The access date is today.

This page was last updated on October 9, 2026

APA

Vuelopedia. (2026, October 9). TAWS. Retrieved October 16, 2026, from https://vuelopedia.org/en/glossary/taws

MLA

“TAWS.” Vuelopedia, Fundación Poderia, 9 Oct. 2026, vuelopedia.org/en/glossary/taws. Accessed 16 Oct. 2026.

Chicago

Vuelopedia. “TAWS.” Fundación Poderia. Last modified October 9, 2026. https://vuelopedia.org/en/glossary/taws.

Harvard

Vuelopedia (2026) TAWS. Available at: https://vuelopedia.org/en/glossary/taws (Accessed: 16 October 2026).

BibTeX

@misc{vuelopedia_en_glossary_taws,
  author       = {{Vuelopedia}},
  title        = {{TAWS}},
  publisher    = {Fundación Poderia},
  year         = {2026},
  date         = {2026-10-09},
  url          = {https://vuelopedia.org/en/glossary/taws},
  howpublished = {\url{https://vuelopedia.org/en/glossary/taws}},
  urldate      = {2026-10-16},
  note         = {Accessed 2026-10-16}
}

Wikipedia

{{cite web |url=https://vuelopedia.org/en/glossary/taws |title=TAWS |website=Vuelopedia |publisher=Fundación Poderia |date=2026-10-09 |access-date=2026-10-16 |language=en}}

Explore the encyclopedia

Homethe record of every aircraftAirlinesdocumented fleetsModelsfrom the Airbus A220 to the Boeing 747Compareup to three aircraft, side by sideManufacturerswho builds the aircraft, and their enginesIVCA Rankingair quality, from 0 to 100Newsthe latest from the recordsOn this dayaviation, day by dayVideosone aviation story a day, on videoAirportsthe world's leading onesAccidentswhat every accident changedTimelinethe whole century, 1903 to todayPeoplewho made all of this possibleOn Screenwhen the airliner was the plotTriviaa daily aviation challengeMemoriesa name in an aircraft's historyPresspress releases and Vuelopedia in the mediaYour profilesign in or create your accountAboutwhat Vuelopedia is and who makes it