An airplane has, for the first time, routinely landed itself after an in-flight emergency, in accordance with the system’s producer.
Two folks emerged unscathed from the Beechcraft Super King Air 200 after it stopped on the runway at Rocky Mountain Metropolitan Airport close to Denver, in accordance with video posted by emergency responders.
The twin-engine turboprop landed beneath the management of Garmin’s Autoland system, which the corporate says is now put in on about 1,700 airplanes. “This was the first use of Autoland from start-to-finish in an actual emergency,” Garmin stated in a assertion.
The operator of the airplane, constitution firm Buffalo River Aviation, says the Autoland system routinely engaged throughout a flight from Aspen with no passengers on board.
“The aircraft experienced a rapid, uncommanded loss of pressurization” and the pilots placed on their oxygen masks, stated constitution firm CEO Chris Townsley in a assertion. Autoland “automatically engaged exactly as designed when the cabin altitude exceeded the prescribed safe levels” and the pilots “made the decision to leave the system engaged,” Townsley stated.
In a demonstration of the system in a Cirrus Aircraft SR22 in April, NCS was capable of take a look at Autoland beneath managed circumstances. Pushing a giant crimson button prompts the airplane’s on-board autopilot, steering the airplane to a appropriate airport and making bulletins to air site visitors controllers.
“Pilot incapacitation,” an automatic voice might be heard saying on air site visitors management audio of Saturday’s incident from LiveATC.net. It warns different pilots in the realm: “Emergency auto-land in less than 1 minute on runway 3-0 right.”
Buffalo River Aviation’s CEO clarifies that “reports of pilot incapacitation are incorrect and result solely from the Garmin emergency system’s automated communication and reporting functions.”
“In this case, the crew consciously elected to preserve and use all available tools and minimize additional variables in an unpredictable, emergent situation, prioritizing life and a safe outcome over all other factors, as they are trained to do.”
The Federal Aviation Administration is investigating the incident.