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lite.cnn.com - on gopher - inofficial
ARTICLE VIEW:
Airplane lands itself after in-flight emergency, in a first for
aviation automation
By Pete Muntean, Dugald McConnell, CNN
Updated:
4:36 PM EST, Tue December 23, 2025
Source: CNN
An airplane has, for the first time, automatically landed itself after
an in-flight emergency, according to the system’s manufacturer.
Two people emerged unscathed from the Beechcraft Super King Air 200
after it stopped on the runway at Rocky Mountain Metropolitan Airport
near Denver, according to video posted by emergency responders.
The twin-engine turboprop landed under the control of Garmin’s
Autoland system, which the company says is now installed on about 1,700
airplanes. “This was the first use of Autoland from start-to-finish
in an actual emergency,” Garmin said in a statement.
The operator of the plane, charter company Buffalo River Aviation, says
the Autoland system automatically engaged during a flight from Aspen
with no passengers on board.
“The aircraft experienced a rapid, uncommanded loss of
pressurization” and the pilots put on their oxygen masks, said
charter company CEO Chris Townsley in a statement. Autoland
“automatically engaged exactly as designed when the cabin altitude
exceeded the prescribed safe levels” and the pilots “made the
decision to leave the system engaged,” Townsley said.
In a demonstration of the system in a Cirrus Aircraft SR22 in April,
CNN was able to test Autoland under controlled circumstances. Pushing a
large red button activates the plane’s on-board autopilot, steering
the airplane to a suitable airport and making announcements to air
traffic controllers.
“Pilot incapacitation,” an automated voice can be heard saying on
air traffic control audio of Saturday’s incident from . It warns
other pilots in the area: “Emergency auto-land in less than 1 minute
on runway 3-0 right.”
Buffalo River Aviation’s CEO clarifies that “reports of pilot
incapacitation are incorrect and result solely from the Garmin
emergency system’s automated communication and reporting
functions.”
“In this case, the crew consciously elected to preserve and use all
available tools and minimize additional variables in an unpredictable,
emergent situation, prioritizing life and a safe outcome over all other
factors, as they are trained to do.”
The Federal Aviation Administration is investigating the incident.
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