Responding to aircraft excursions from flight envelopes
First Claim
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1. A method of monitoring an aircraft during use, the method comprising:
- monitoring a plurality of flight parameters of the aircraft;
detecting an excursion of the aircraft from a flight envelope predefined for at least one of the monitored flight parameters; and
while the aircraft is still in flight;
using the monitored flight parameters to determine a severity of the detected excursion;
identifying one or more components of the aircraft possibly affected by the excursion; and
based on the excursion severity and the one or more identified possibly affected components, specifying one or more flight restrictions to be observed for the remainder of the flight, and specifying one or more inspections to be made of the one or more possibly affected components of the aircraft;
said method performed by one or more processors of the aircraft.
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Abstract
A method of monitoring an aircraft during use. Flight parameters of the aircraft are monitored to detect an excursion from a flight envelope. While the aircraft is still in flight, the monitored flight parameters are used to determine the severity of a detected excursion, aircraft component(s) possibly affected by the excursion are identified, and flight restrictions and/or inspections responsive to the excursion severity and identified component(s) are specified. This method provides valuable information to a flight crew about flight envelope excursions, can enhance passenger safety and can prevent unnecessary inspections and aircraft downtime.
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Citations
20 Claims
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1. A method of monitoring an aircraft during use, the method comprising:
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monitoring a plurality of flight parameters of the aircraft; detecting an excursion of the aircraft from a flight envelope predefined for at least one of the monitored flight parameters; and while the aircraft is still in flight; using the monitored flight parameters to determine a severity of the detected excursion; identifying one or more components of the aircraft possibly affected by the excursion; and based on the excursion severity and the one or more identified possibly affected components, specifying one or more flight restrictions to be observed for the remainder of the flight, and specifying one or more inspections to be made of the one or more possibly affected components of the aircraft; said method performed by one or more processors of the aircraft. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
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9. A method of monitoring an aircraft during use, the method comprising:
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detecting a speed of the aircraft in excess of a predefined speed limit; upon detecting the excess speed, recording a plurality of flight parameters, including the detected excess speed, of the aircraft; and while the aircraft is still in flight after the excess speed is detected; identifying one or more components of the aircraft possibly affected as a result of the excess speed, the identifying performed using the recorded flight parameters; and based on the identifying, specifying one or more flight restrictions to be complied with for the remainder of the flight and an inspection plan for the identified components; said method performed by one or more processors of the aircraft. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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15. A system for monitoring an aircraft during use, the system comprising a processor and memory configured to:
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monitor a plurality of flight parameters of the aircraft; detect an excursion of one or more of the monitored flight parameters from a flight envelope predefined for one or more of the monitored flight parameters; while the aircraft is still in use after the excursion, analyze one or more of the monitored flight parameters to determine a severity of the excursion and to identify one or more components of the aircraft possibly affected by the excursion; analyze the flight parameters in combination to determine whether, and if so, how, to specify one or more flight restrictions to be observed for the remainder of the flight based on the excursion severity and identified components. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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Specification