For everyone out there who thinks planes are so automated these days they’re just taking off and landing themselves, leaving the pilots with nothing to do in between, this story is for you. For the first time outside of a demo or test flight, an airplane successfully landed itself after an in-flight emergency.
Contrary to popular belief, this is a line in the sand for the aviation industry that has not been crossed until now, when it was forced to happen to save lives. Not many lives, but lives nonetheless.
On December 20, a Beechcraft Super King Air 200 flying over Colorado experienced a sudden loss of cabin pressure. Garmin’s Emergency Autoland system took over, flew the aircraft, talked to air traffic control, and landed safely at Rocky Mountain Metropolitan Airport near Denver…