Five Ways Garmin Autoland Offers Peace of Mind to Aircraft Pilots and Passengers
Whether you’re in the sky for business or pleasure, you take on a massive responsibility when you enter the cockpit to fly an airplane. Everyone on board is in your care, and it’s your job to get them from point A to point B safely. But what if something happens to you?
Enter Garmin Autoland, the revolutionary avionics system that autonomously lands the plane if a pilot is unable to fly1. Winner of the prestigious 2020 Robert J. Collier Trophy awarded by the National Aeronautic Association, Autoland has been recognized as “the greatest achievement in aeronautics or astronautics in America, with respect to improving performance, efficiency, safety in air or space vehicles.” But how does it work? Here are five ways Garmin Autoland provides peace of mind to those on board.
1. Allows for easily engaged in-flight assistance.
Passengers can activate Garmin Autoland with the simple push of an activation button. But if they aren’t sure where it is — or there are no passengers on the flight — Autoland can engage automatically when it determines the pilot is unable to fly the plane. (Note that once Autoland is engaged, the pilot can later deactivate it at their discretion.)
2. Identifies optimal destination.
Once engaged, Autoland will scan its options and choose the best airport for landing. It takes into consideration distance, runway length, fuel range and other factors to make this selection.
3. Avoids known hazards.
After selecting a destination for landing, Autoland will head toward that runway while navigating around obstacles such as hazardous terrain or weather as it flies the plane.
4. Announces intentions.
Once Garmin Autoland has been activated and a destination has been selected, the system will automatically communicate its intentions to both the flight’s passengers and air traffic control.
5. Lands the aircraft.
Once the airplane reaches its identified destination, Autoland will land the aircraft. It then stops the plane on the runway so that emergency services can immediately reach the pilot and any passengers on board2.
It’s really that simple. Interested in flying on an airplane equipped with Garmin Autoland? It’s now available on select G3000® flight deck-equipped aircraft, including 2020 or later models of the Piper M600 SLS, the Cirrus Vision Jet and the Daher TBM 940 — and it’ll be making its way to more soon. Check our Autoland webpage for the most up-to-date compatibility information.
1See Autoland system requirements and limitations
2Aircraft may require maintenance after Autoland use
