Small plane lands itself safely with Autoland system in 1st use in emergency situation, company says
The incident occurred at Rocky Mountain Metropolitan Airport in Colorado.
A small plane landed itself safely at a Colorado airport in what marked the first-ever use of Garmin's Autoland system in an emergency situation, according to the company.
The incident occurred Saturday afternoon at Rocky Mountain Metropolitan Airport in Broomfield, near Denver, and involved a twin-engine Beechcraft Super King Air, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.
The pilot lost communication with air traffic control and an "onboard emergency autoland system was activated," the FAA said in a statement.
Two pilots were traveling with no passengers when the aircraft "experienced a rapid, uncommanded loss of pressurization," Buffalo River Aviation, which owns the plane, said in a statement.
The two pilots immediately put on their oxygen masks and the Autoland system "automatically engaged exactly as designed when the cabin altitude exceeded the prescribed safe levels," the company said.
The pilots decided to leave the system engaged due to the "complexity" of the situation, according to Buffalo River Aviation.
"While the system performed exactly as expected, the pilots were prepared to resume manual control of the aircraft should the system have malfunctioned in any way," the company said.
An automated message played over air traffic control to alert personnel that the pilot was no longer in control, and the plane would be landing at the nearest suitable airport, according to the ATC recording. An automated system is heard on the ATC recording communicating with the controller, stating the aircraft number and "pilot incapacitation" while keeping the controller informed of how far the plane was from landing at the runway.
Buffalo River Aviation noted that there was no pilot incapacitation and that the report resulted "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 company said.
The plane landed "safely without incident," and no one was transported to a hospital, according to airport officials.
The FAA said it is investigating.
The National Transportation Safety Board said it is aware of the incident and is gathering information "to determine if it meets the criteria for an investigation."
The Autoland is a system designed to be used in emergencies when the pilot is not capable of landing the aircraft.
Garmin, the company that made the system, said Saturday's incident was the "first use of Autoland from start-to-finish in an actual emergency."
More than 1,700 in-service aircraft are equipped with the system, according to the company.
According to Garmin's website for Garmin, Autoland "directs the aircraft to a suitable airport nearby for landing based upon a variety of conditions, including, but not limited to, weather, terrain, approach, runway and aircraft suitability."
The system does not work if the aircraft is experiencing mechanical issues, fuel exhaustion or if flight controls aren't able to move freely, the website states.
Editor's note: An earlier version of this story said that the pilot was incapacitated, citing automated ATC audio from the aircraft, during the emergency landing. It has been updated to say that both pilots were not incapacitated but decided to keep the Autoland system engaged.
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