Gliding Vertical Margin Guidance for Emergency Landing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Pilots face increased mental workload and stress during emergency situations, such as total engine flameout conditions, due to the need to manually fly the aircraft while assessing numerous factors for safe landing, including weather and runway suitability, which can lead to pilot error.
Innovation Solution
A system that dynamically calculates and displays the vertical height margin for potential landing airports, using real-time data on aircraft state and meteorological conditions, providing qualitative feedback through graphical indicia to assist pilots in selecting a viable landing location.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If pilots manually assess multiple factors for safe landing during emergency situations, then landing safety can be maintained through pilot judgment, but pilot mental workload and stress increase significantly leading to higher likelihood of pilot error
Solution Approach 1:
The system introduces an intermediary computational layer that processes multiple landing assessment factors (weather conditions, runway suitability, aircraft performance, distance to airport) and presents synthesized guidance to the pilot. This intermediary system handles the complexity of integrating numerous parameters, reducing the cognitive burden on the pilot while maintaining safety through automated analysis of critical factors.
Solution Approach 2:
The system enables self-service by automatically gathering and analyzing landing assessment data without requiring pilot intervention. The aircraft's own systems (sensors, navigation, performance models) are utilized to generate landing viability assessments, allowing the aircraft to essentially evaluate its own landing prospects and present recommendations to the pilot.
2Loss of information
If pilots manually piece together information from multiple different displays and instruments, then comprehensive situational awareness can be achieved, but the time required to process information increases and pilot error likelihood increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system merges information from multiple disparate sources (weather radar, NOTAMs, SIGMETs, PIREPs, aircraft performance data, navigation systems) into a unified landing viability assessment. By consolidating these separate information streams into a single integrated evaluation, the system eliminates the need for pilots to mentally integrate data from multiple displays while preserving comprehensive situational awareness.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary action by continuously monitoring and pre-processing landing assessment data in the background, even before an emergency situation arises. When an emergency occurs, the system has already gathered and organized relevant information, enabling rapid presentation of landing options without requiring time-consuming manual information gathering during the critical decision-making moment.
3Reliability
If pilots analyze multiple runways at a diversion airport to determine relative suitability, then optimal landing selection can be made, but the complexity of the decision-making process increases under time-sensitive conditions
Solution Approach 1:
The system applies local quality by providing differentiated assessments for each specific runway at the diversion airport, evaluating factors such as runway length, surface condition, alignment with approach path, and local weather conditions. This localized analysis allows pilots to quickly compare runways based on their specific characteristics rather than performing comprehensive analysis of all possible factors for each option.
Solution Approach 2:
The system employs visual indicators (such as color-coded displays or symbolic representations) to communicate the relative suitability of different runways. By translating complex assessment data into intuitive visual formats, the system enables rapid comparison of multiple runway options without requiring pilots to process detailed numerical data for each alternative.
Data Source
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AI summary
Methods and systems are provided for guiding or otherwise assisting operation of an aircraft en route to an airport. One method involves identifying a reference point in advance of a runway, dynamically determining a gliding vertical trajectory for the aircraft en route to the reference point based at least in part on a current altitude of the aircraft at a current aircraft location and gliding characteristics of the aircraft, and providing a graphical indication of a difference between a predicted altitude of the aircraft at a location corresponding to the reference point resulting from the gliding vertical trajectory and an altitude criterion associated with the reference point. The graphical indication of the difference dynamically updates as the aircraft travels.