Automated Flight Data Retrieval for Aircraft Medical Emergencies

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Solution Overview

Problem

During an aircraft medical emergency, it is challenging for crew members to quickly and accurately retrieve and communicate flight status information due to their preoccupation with flight functions and providing medical attention.

Innovation Solution

A computer-implemented method and system that automatically retrieves flight data from a flight management system via an API, categorizes the data, and transmits it to external devices for coordinated emergency response.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Measurement precision

If crew members manually retrieve and communicate flight status information during a medical emergency, then human judgment and flexibility are maintained, but the speed and accuracy of information transmission deteriorate due to preoccupation with flight functions and medical attention

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveaccuracy of flight status informationVSAvoidtime to retrieve and communicate information

Core Design Contradiction:

Measurement precisionVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The system enables self-service by automatically retrieving, categorizing, and transmitting flight status information without requiring crew member intervention. The flight management system autonomously identifies the emergency, extracts relevant flight data, categorizes it by urgency, and transmits it to ground authorities, freeing crew members to focus on flight safety and medical care.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #25Self-service

Solution Approach 2:

The system introduces an intermediary automated information retrieval system between the flight management system and ground authorities. This intermediary automatically extracts, processes, and transmits flight status information, eliminating the need for direct human-to-human verbal communication and reducing both time loss and potential accuracy errors.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

2Reliability

If crew members focus on providing medical attention and flying the aircraft, then patient care and flight safety are improved, but the ability to communicate emergency information deteriorates

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvequality of medical care and flight safetyVSAvoidease of communicating emergency information

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSEase of operation

Solution Approach 1:

The system performs the communication task autonomously without requiring crew members to manually retrieve or transmit information. The automated system handles the entire information retrieval and transmission process, making communication ease irrelevant to crew workload while maintaining information accuracy.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #25Self-service

Solution Approach 2:

The system performs preliminary actions by pre-establishing the information retrieval and transmission framework before emergencies occur. During an emergency, the system is already configured to automatically extract and send relevant flight data, eliminating the need for crew members to perform communication tasks under stress.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

3Adaptability or versatility

If verbal communication is used to relay flight status information, then flexibility in communication is maintained, but accuracy deteriorates due to human error in hearing and interpreting information

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveflexibility in communication methodVSAvoidaccuracy of transmitted information

Core Design Contradiction:

Adaptability or versatilityVSMeasurement precision

Solution Approach 1:

The system replaces the mechanical human verbal communication process with an automated electronic information retrieval and transmission system. This substitution eliminates human errors in hearing, interpreting, and repeating information while maintaining the flexibility needed for emergency communication through automated categorization and transmission protocols.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #28Mechanics substitution (Replace mechanical system)

Data Source

PatentUS20250157344A1Method for Auto Populating Flight Status in Event of Aircraft Emergency

Publication Date: 2025.05.15 GOGO BUSINESS AVIATION LLC

AI summary

A computer-implemented method for retrieving flight data in a medical emergency includes receiving, by one or more processors of a first user device and via an application programming interface, an indication of a medical emergency aboard an aircraft; retrieving, by the one or more processors and responsive to receiving the indication of the medical emergency, flight data associated with the medical emergency from a flight management system associated with the aircraft; automatically categorizing, by the one or more processors, the retrieved flight data based at least on one or more flight data fields associated with the medical emergency to generate categorized flight data; and transmitting, by the one or more processors, at least some of the categorized flight data to a second user device external to the aircraft.