SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR AIRCRAFT FLIGHT TRACKING AND EMERGENCY LOCATION

• US 20110246001A1
• Filed: 03/28/2011
• Published: 10/06/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 04/02/2010
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Cloudahoy, Inc. (The Boeing Co.)
• Original Assignee: Cloudahoy, Inc. (The Boeing Co.)
• Inventors: Shavit, Tsachi C.
• Application Number:
  US13/073,905
• Publication Number:
  US 20110246001A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 701/14
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 5/0026 located on the ground
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 5/0043 Traffic management of multiple aircrafts from the ground G08G5/003 takes precedence; data processing specially designed for resource management, e.g. scheduling or allocating time, human or machine resources G06Q10/06

Abstract

Systems and methods are provided for automated collection and analysis of aircraft flight data. In accordance with one aspect, a system for collecting flight data associated with an aircraft is provided to transmit collected flight data to a remote system for storage and processing. In accordance with another aspect, a remote system utilizes received aircraft location data to determine whether an aircraft flight incident has occurred, and to alert appropriate emergency services. In accordance with another aspect, a remote system analyzes received aircraft flight data and quantitatively evaluates performance of a pilot. In yet another aspect, a system is provided for graphical and textual display of collected aircraft flight data and pilot performance evaluation data.

Claims

1. An aircraft locator system comprising:

a server having a server memory unit;

a server processing unit coupled to the memory unit; and

a server transmitting and receiving unit coupled to the processing unit;

wherein the server is configured to;

receive aircraft location data transmitted from a data logger configured to obtain aircraft location data;

determine, based on the received aircraft. location data, whether a flight incident has occurred; and

determine, based on the received aircraft location data, a last known location of the aircraft.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the prioritized order s a last-in first-out order.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the data logger is further configured to transmit the aircraft location data using an aircraft communications addressing and reporting system.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the server further comprises a database of airports and runways stored in the server memory unit, and wherein the server is further configured to determine whether a flight incident has occurred by comparing the received aircraft location data with the database of airports and runways.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the server is further configured to alert emergency service agencies based on a flight incident determination.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein a flight incident comprises at least one of an accident, a collision, a crash, an overdue arrival, an altitude deviation, a course deviation, a ground proximity warning, a loss of transponder information, and a loss of automatic dependent surveillance-broadcast information.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein the aircraft location data comprises at least one of position data and altitude data.

8. An aircraft locator method, the method comprising:

collecting aircraft location data via a data logger;

prioritizing the aircraft location data for transmission via the data logger;

transmitting the aircraft location data to a remote system;

determining whether a flight incident has occurred via the remote system; and

determining, based on the aircraft location data, a last known location of the aircraft.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the aircraft location data is prioritized in a last-in first-out order.

10. The method of claim 8, wherein the aircraft location data is transmitted by an aircraft communications addressing and reporting system.

11. The method of claim 8, wherein determining whether a flight incident has occurred further comprises comparing the aircraft location data to a database of airport and runway locations.

12. The method of claim 8, further comprising alerting emergency service agencies based on a flight incident determination.

13. The method of claim 8, wherein a flight incident comprises at least one of an accident, a collision, a crash, an overdue arrival, an altitude deviation, a course deviation, a ground proximity warning, a loss of transponder information, and a loss of automatic dependent surveillance-broadcast information.

14. The method of claim 8, wherein the aircraft location data comprises at least one of position data and altitude data.

15. A non-transitory computer readable medium encoded with a computer program for locating an aircraft, the computer program comprising instructions for:

receiving prioritized aircraft location data;

determining, based on the received aircraft location data, whether a flight incident has occurred; and

determining, based on the received aircraft location data, a last known location of the aircraft.

16. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 15, wherein the aircraft location data is prioritized in a last-in first-out order.

17. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 15, wherein a flight incident occurrence determination is based on a comparison between the received aircraft location data and a database of airport and runway locations.

18. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 15, wherein the computer program further comprises instructions for alerting emergency services based on a flight incident determination.

19. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 15, wherein a flight incident comprises at least one of an accident, a collision, a crash, an overdue arrival, an altitude deviation, a course deviation, a ground proximity warning, a loss of transponder information, and a loss of automatic dependent surveillance-broadcast information.

20. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 15, wherein the aircraft location data comprises at least one of position data and altitude data.

21. An aircraft locator system comprising:

means for collecting aircraft location data comprising;

means for receiving global positioning system aircraft location data;

means for storing aircraft location data;

means for transmitting stored aircraft location data to a remote means for storing and processing aircraft location data;

means for processing stored aircraft location data, wherein the stored aircraft location data is reordered and prioritized by the processing means prior to transmission; and

wherein the remote means for storing and processing aircraft location data receives the transmitted aircraft location data; and

determines, based on the received aircraft location data, whether a flight incident has occurred.