Integrated flight deck provider Garmin said Wednesday that its Autoland system is now equipped on more than 2,500 aircraft, marking a new milestone for the technology that was initially certified less than seven years ago in May 2020.
The Robert J. Collier Trophy-winning technology is the world’s first certified autonomous system designed to activate during an emergency to control and land an aircraft without human intervention.
Phil Straub, executive vice president and managing director for aviation at Garmin, said in a news release that the achievement “reflects the incredible adoption of a technology designed to provide pilots and passengers with added confidence when it matters most.”
First certified on the Piper M600 SLS, Garmin Autoland is now available on 15 models, including piston-powered aircraft and twin-engine jets.
It is certified for airframes including the Piper M700 Fury; Cirrus Vision Jet G2, G2+, and G3 and Cirrus SR20 G7+, SR22 G7+, and SR22T G7+; Daher TBM 940, TBM 960, and TBM 980; Beechcraft King Air 200, B200, 300, and 350; as well as the HondaJet Elite II and recently certified Embraer Phenom 300EV, its first twin-engine jet certifications.
In September, the system was certified for the Pilatus PC-12 Pro and Epic E1000 AX. In 2027, Garmin expects more certifications for Textron Aviation’s Beechcraft Denali and Cessna Citation M2 Gen3, CJ3 Gen3, and CJ4 Gen3, the first Citation models to feature the technology. The company also last month made all-Garmin avionics upgrades available to original CitationJet owners via retrofit.
Autoland is available through the G1000 NXi, G3000, and G3000 Prime flight decks. Of the 2,500-plus aircraft equipped with the technology, more than 250, including the King Air series, were retrofitted after delivery.
How Garmin Autoland Works
Autoland is designed to handle situations involving sudden pilot incapacitation, such as due to a medical emergency or loss of pressurization. The system can be activated by anyone in the aircraft, including passengers, with a simple button push, and it can be overridden and shut down by the pilot at any time.
When the button is pressed or the system activates on its own, it takes full control of the aircraft and begins analyzing all available weather, aircraft status, navigation, and other data. Factoring in runway length, wind, weather conditions, remaining fuel, and NOTAMs, it uses that data to choose the best place to land, then calculates a safe route.
While flying autonomously, Autoland avoids known hazards and communicates its intentions to passengers and ATC on appropriate radio frequencies. It takes command of flaps, landing gear, lighting, and other systems required for landing. Once the aircraft is on the ground, Autoland brings it to a stop on the runway, shuts the engine down, and directs the occupants to evacuate.
In the event of cabin depressurization at high altitude, Garmin’s Emergency Descent Mode activates first, and Autoland activates if the pilot does not interact with the flight deck after descending to a safer altitude. The system will also activate if Electronic Stability and Protection is turned on and senses pilot control inputs that repeatedly exceed given limits.
There is only one recorded real-world activation of the system. In December, the pilot of a King Air B200 reported a cabin pressurization issue to air traffic control shortly after takeoff, and the system activated automatically after the aircraft’s cabin altitude exceeded safe levels. The conscious crew allowed Autoland to take over. The aircraft landed safely and returned to service the following day.