Helicopter Emergency Landing Control System
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Solution Overview
Problem
Rotary-wing aircraft, such as helicopters, experience a high incidence of unintended emergency landings due to operator error, equipment malfunctions, and hazardous weather, where pilots face challenges in assessing landing zones and managing workload pressures during emergency maneuvers.
Innovation Solution
An emergency landing control system that continuously generates landing paths and adjusts engine power in real-time using data from landing site, engine health, and aircraft health sources, providing pilots with clear choices and reducing workload through integrated sensors and processors for optimal landing site selection and engine management.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the pilot attempts to reach a more desirable landing zone during an emergency landing, then the quality of the landing site is improved, but the time required to reach it increases and the risk of engine failure increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system pre-calculates multiple landing paths to different landing zones before the pilot needs to make a decision. By having landing options pre-computed and presented, the pilot can select a desirable landing zone without experiencing time pressure, as the computational work was done in advance during normal flight operations.
Solution Approach 2:
The system continuously monitors engine health parameters and provides real-time feedback to the pilot about the current engine state and remaining time to various landing zones. This feedback loop allows the pilot to make informed decisions about whether to proceed to a more desirable landing zone or land immediately, based on current engine performance data.
2Productivity
If the pilot makes a decision under workload pressure during an emergency landing, then the landing maneuver is executed, but the decision quality deteriorates due to stress and time pressure
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs self-service by automatically calculating multiple landing paths, evaluating landing zone qualities, and presenting options to the pilot. This removes the burden of complex calculations and decision analysis from the pilot, allowing them to make decisions with higher quality under pressure by simply selecting from pre-evaluated options rather than analyzing raw data themselves.
Solution Approach 2:
The system prepares multiple landing path options in advance, before the emergency situation requires a decision. This preliminary computation of various landing scenarios allows the pilot to review pre-analyzed options without time pressure, improving decision quality while maintaining rapid execution capability.
3Loss of time
If the pilot lands immediately without assessing the landing zone, then the time to landing is reduced, but the safety and suitability of the landing site deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The system pre-calculates multiple landing paths to different landing zones with varying qualities and travel times. By having this information prepared in advance, the pilot can quickly review options and select an appropriate landing zone without needing to conduct time-consuming assessments during the emergency, thus maintaining both speed and safety.
Solution Approach 2:
The system provides real-time feedback to the pilot about the quality and characteristics of different landing zones along with the time required to reach each. This allows the pilot to make an informed trade-off decision between landing time and landing site suitability based on current engine performance and pre-analyzed path data.
4Measurement precision
If the system provides comprehensive information to the pilot during an emergency landing, then the pilot's decision-making is improved, but the workload and information processing requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system segments the complex decision-making process into distinct, manageable components: multiple pre-calculated landing paths, evaluation of different landing zone qualities, and presentation of options with key parameters. This segmentation allows the pilot to process information in organized chunks rather than overwhelming raw data, improving decision-making while managing workload.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs the complex information processing and analysis work itself, generating multiple landing paths and evaluating their qualities. This self-service approach to information processing reduces the cognitive burden on the pilot, who receives processed, actionable options rather than raw data requiring extensive analysis.
Data Source
AI summary
An emergency landing control system for an aircraft includes a landing site data source, a performance margin data source, an engine health data source, an aircraft health data source, and a processor. The landing site data source determines, continuously and in real-time, available landing sites. The performance margin data source conducts, continuously and in real-time, continuous performance analysis of an engine. The engine health data source determines, continuously and in real-time, available engine power as a function of time. The aircraft health data source determines, continuously and in real-time, available aircraft life as a function of time. The processor receives data from these data sources and, based on these data, continuously generates landing paths to one or more of the available landing sites, and selectively and continuously adjusts maximum available engine power up to emergency power limits, as needed, during execution of a landing maneuver to a landing site.