Method and apparatus for providing an aircraft emergency safety control system

• US 6,739,556 B1
• Filed: 11/20/2002
• Issued: 05/25/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 11/20/2002
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Raytheon Company (Rtx Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Raytheon Company (Rtx Corporation)
• Inventors: Langston, James Leland
• Primary Examiner(s): Swiatek, Robert P.
• Application Number:
  US10/300,141
• Time in Patent Office: 552 Days
• Field of Search: 244/3.11, 244/3.14, 244/76.R, 244/189, 244/196, 244/197
• US Class Current: 244/189
• CPC Class Codes: B64D 45/0031 means for overriding or restricting access to flight controls
• CPC Class Codes: B64D 45/0034 by ground-control override
• CPC Class Codes: B64D 45/0059 by communicating emergency situations to ground control or between crew members
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 5/0013 with a ground station
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 5/0056 in an emergency situation, e.g. hijacking

Abstract

A method and apparatus for providing an Aircraft Emergency Safety Control System (AESCS) capable of regaining control of an aircraft that may have been lost due to incapacitation of the crew includes an airborne segment, a ground segment, and a communications segment wherein control of the aircraft is removed from the control of unauthorized person(s) onboard the aircraft, and the aircraft is directed to a destination that is considered a safe location for the aircraft given it'"'"'s status, and to facilitate a reasonably safe emergency landing.

Claims

1. An aircraft emergency safety control system comprising:

a monitor and control station capable of monitoring an aircraft and determining the presence of an emergency situation onboard the aircraft;

a communications system providing communication between the aircraft and said monitor and control station; and

a navigational system capable of providing autonomous control of the aircraft upon receipt of a signal from said monitor and control station, and wherein said navigation system is capable of disabling cockpit control of selected systems of the aircraft.

2. The system of claim 1 wherein said navigation system accepts emergency navigation, guidance, and control instructions from said monitor and control station via said communications system.

3. The system of claim 1 wherein said cockpit control includes at least one of engine controls, electrical controls, fuel controls and cabin pressure controls.

4. The system of claim 1 wherein said navigation system comprises a three-dimensional navigation system including at least one of a full-control 3-axis autopilot, sensors for determining forward velocity, sensors for determining vertical velocity, sensors for determining roll, sensors for determining roll-rate, sensors for determining yaw, sensors for determining heading, sensors for determining angle of attack, sensors for determining ground speed, sensors for determining attitude and sensors for determining horizontal drift.

5. The system of claim 1 wherein said monitor and control station and said navigational system are capable of vectoring the aircraft to programmed way points and establishing and maintaining final approach heading and glide slope.

6. The system of claim 1 wherein said navigation comprises an autoland system capable of adjusting at least one of power, flair for landing and ground rollout after landing.

7. The system of claim 1 wherein said navigation system is capable of at least one of lowering of landing gear, flap adjustments, and spoiler control.

8. The system of claim 1 wherein said monitoring and control station is integrated with an existing Air Traffic Control (ATC) network.

9. The system of claim 8 wherein said monitor and control station receives information collected from said ATC network.

10. The system of claim 1 wherein said monitor and control station continuously monitors the aircraft to determine at least one of abnormal flight patterns, situations which may pose a hazard to either the aircraft or ground locations, emergency codes, cockpit alarms, and loss of aircraft systems that pose a threat to the aircraft.

11. The system of claim 1 wherein said monitor and control station correlates planned flight paths with actual flight paths and detects significant deviations from normal operations.

12. The system of claim 1 wherein said monitor and control station monitors at least one of cockpit audio, cockpit video, cabin audio, and cabin video.

13. The system of claim 1 wherein said monitor and control station provides a command sequence to said navigational system which places control of the aircraft with onboard electronic systems.

14. The system of claim 13 wherein said monitor and control system provides flight information to said onboard electronic systems.

15. The system of claim 14 wherein said flight information includes at least one of climb to a specific altitude, assume a particular heading, navigate to a particular way-point, proceed to a specified destination, and initiate a particular procedure.

16. The system of claim 1 wherein said communications system comprises a system including at least one of a one-way communication system, a two-way communication system, a VHF communications system, a UHF communications system and a satellite communications system.

17. The system of claim 1 wherein communications over said communications system are encrypted.

18. A method of providing an aircraft emergency safety control system comprising:

monitoring an aircraft with a monitor and control station;

determining the presence of an emergency situation onboard the aircraft;

communicating between the aircraft and said monitor and control station by way of a communications link;

taking autonomous control of the aircraft upon receipt of a signal to do so from said monitor and control station; and

disabling cockpit control of selected systems of the aircraft.

19. The method of claim 18 wherein said taking autonomous control of the aircraft includes accepting emergency navigation, guidance, and control instructions from said monitor and control station via said communications link.

20. The method of claim 18 wherein said cockpit control includes at least one of engine controls, electrical controls, fuel controls and cabin pressure controls.

21. The method of claim 18 wherein said taking autonomous control of the aircraft includes at least one of vectoring the aircraft to programmed way points, establishing and maintaining final approach heading and glide slope, adjusting power, adjusting flair for landing, adjusting ground rollout after landing, lowering of landing gear, flap adjustments, and spoiler control.

22. The method of claim 18 further comprising receiving information collected from an ATC network.

23. The method of claim 18 wherein monitoring an aircraft includes at least one of monitoring cockpit audio, monitoring cockpit video, monitoring cabin audio, monitoring cabin video, determining abnormal flight patterns, determining situations which may pose a hazard to either the aircraft or ground locations, monitoring the aircraft for emergency codes, monitoring the aircraft for cockpit alarms, correlating planned flight paths with actual flight paths and detecting significant deviations from normal operations, and monitoring the aircraft for loss of aircraft systems that pose a threat to the aircraft.

24. The method of claim 18 wherein taking autonomous control of the aircraft includes providing a command sequence to a navigational system of the aircraft which places control of the aircraft with onboard electronic systems.

25. The method of claim 18 wherein taking autonomous control of the aircraft includes providing flight information to the onboard electronic systems.

26. The method of claim 25 wherein said providing flight information includes at least one of climbing to a specific altitude, assuming a particular heading, navigating to a particular way-point, proceeding to a specified destination, and initiating a particular procedure.

27. The method of claim 18 wherein said communicating between the aircraft and said monitor and control station is accomplished by way of at least one of a one-way communications system, a two-way communications system, a VHF communications system, a UHF communications system, and a satellite communications system.

28. The method of claim 18 wherein said communicating is done using encryption.