Automatic control of an aircraft in the event of flight crew incapacity
First Claim
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1. A method for automatic control of an aircraft in event of flight crew incapacity, comprising:
- determining any incapacity of the flight crew;
providing a message on a cockpit display requiring acknowledgement from the flight crew in response to determining incapacity of the flight crew, wherein requiring acknowledgement from the flight crew comprises receiving a security code that would only be known by an authorized flight crew member;
commanding an auto pilot to control the aircraft in response to not receiving the acknowledgement from the flight crew;
controlling the aircraft to a landing site by the auto pilot in response to the auto pilot being commanded to control the aircraft;
providing another message requiring acknowledgement from the flight crew when the aircraft reaches the landing site, wherein requiring acknowledgement from the flight crew comprises receiving the security code;
determining a safe area to avoid ground collateral damage and time of flight to the safe area before fuel exhaustion in response to not receiving the security code responsive to the other message; and
flying the aircraft to the safe area prior to fuel exhaustion in response to not receiving the security code responsive to the other message.
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Abstract
A method for automatic control of an aircraft in event of flight crew incapacity may include determining any incapacity of the flight crew. The method may also include providing a message requiring acknowledgement from the flight crew in response determining incapacity of the flight crew. The method may additionally include commanding an auto pilot to control the aircraft in response to not receiving acknowledgement from the flight crew.
13 Citations
21 Claims
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1. A method for automatic control of an aircraft in event of flight crew incapacity, comprising:
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determining any incapacity of the flight crew; providing a message on a cockpit display requiring acknowledgement from the flight crew in response to determining incapacity of the flight crew, wherein requiring acknowledgement from the flight crew comprises receiving a security code that would only be known by an authorized flight crew member; commanding an auto pilot to control the aircraft in response to not receiving the acknowledgement from the flight crew; controlling the aircraft to a landing site by the auto pilot in response to the auto pilot being commanded to control the aircraft; providing another message requiring acknowledgement from the flight crew when the aircraft reaches the landing site, wherein requiring acknowledgement from the flight crew comprises receiving the security code; determining a safe area to avoid ground collateral damage and time of flight to the safe area before fuel exhaustion in response to not receiving the security code responsive to the other message; and flying the aircraft to the safe area prior to fuel exhaustion in response to not receiving the security code responsive to the other message. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 19, 20, 21)
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13. An on-board system for automatic control of an aircraft in event of flight crew incapacity, the system comprising:
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a processor; a module operating on the processor for automatic control of the aircraft in event of flight crew incapacity, wherein the module is adapted to determine any incapacity of the flight crew and to provide a message on a cockpit display requiring acknowledgement from the flight crew in response to determining incapacity of the flight crew, wherein the acknowledgement from the flight crew comprises a security code that would only be known by an authorized flight crew member; an auto pilot to control the aircraft in response to not receiving the acknowledgement from the flight crew, wherein the auto pilot controls the aircraft to a landing site in response to the auto pilot being commanded to control of the aircraft; another module, operating on the processor, being configured to provide another message requiring acknowledgement from the flight crew when the aircraft reaches the landing site, wherein requiring acknowledgement from the flight crew comprises receiving the security code; and a further module, operating on the processor, being configured to determine a safe area to avoid ground collateral damage and time of flight to the safe area before fuel exhaustion in response to not receiving the security code responsive to the other message; and the auto pilot flying the aircraft to the safe area prior to fuel exhaustion in response to not receiving the security code responsive to the other message. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15)
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16. A computer program product for automatic control of an aircraft in event of flight crew incapacity, the computer program product comprising:
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a non-transitory computer readable storage medium having computer readable program code embodied therewith, the computer readable program code comprising; computer readable program code configured to determine any incapacity of the flight crew; computer readable program code configured to provide a message on a cockpit display requiring acknowledgement from the flight crew in response to determining incapacity of the flight crew to control the aircraft, wherein the acknowledgement from the flight crew comprises a security code that would only be known by an authorized flight crew member; computer readable program code configured to command an auto pilot to control the aircraft in response to not receiving the acknowledgement from the flight crew; computer readable program code configured to control the aircraft to a landing site by the auto pilot in response to the auto pilot being commanded to control the aircraft; computer readable program code configured to provide another message requiring acknowledgement from the flight crew when the aircraft reaches the landing site, wherein requiring acknowledgement from the flight crew comprises receiving the security code; computer readable program code configured to determine a safe area to avoid ground collateral damage and time of flight to the safe area before fuel exhaustion in response to not receiving the security code responsive to the other message; and computer readable program code configured to fly the aircraft to the safe area prior to fuel exhaustion in response to not receiving the security code responsive to the other message. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18)
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Specification