DENVER (KDVR) — An aircraft emergency on Saturday led to an autonomous landing at the Rocky Mountain Metropolitan Airport in Broomfield.
Garmin, a technology company based in Kansas, confirmed to FOX31 that an “emergency Autoland activation” had occurred at the airport on Saturday.
“The Autoland took place on Sat., Dec. 20, resulting in a successful landing,” said Garmin in a statement to FOX31. “We look forward to sharing additional details at the appropriate time.”
Garmin Autoland is a “safety-enhancing” technological system used during an emergency when a pilot is unable to fly.
According to the company’s website, the system takes full control of the aircraft, communicates the aircraft’s routing and its intentions to land to air traffic controllers, and once at the intended destination, the system lands the aircraft on the runway.
“Garmin Autoland can engage automatically when it determines the pilot is unable to fly — or passengers can press an activation button,” the website stated.
According to LiveATC.net, a service that provides broadcasts from air traffic control towers, an air traffic controller at the RMMA tower on Saturday can be heard reporting that a King Air was “experiencing an emergency.”
Around six minutes after the initial air traffic controller’s report, an auditory alert system can be heard communicating the aircraft’s tail number of the flight, N479BR.
At that time, the alert system states the intent to conduct “emergency auto landing” on Runway 30 due to a “pilot incapacitation.” The system also provided frequent updates on the aircraft’s projected landing time and distance from the airport.
According to FlightAware, the tail number belongs to a King Air 200, which departed from the Aspen-Pitkin County Airport at 1:43 p.m. on Saturday. The platform also reported that the aircraft landed at 2:19 p.m. at the RMMA.
There is information at this time on the condition of the pilot or the number of passengers on the flight.
Airline industry expert, Steve Cowell, told FOX31’s Shaul Turner that Autoland technology seeks the best options for the safest emergency landing, considering weather, runway length and other factors.
“Air traffic controllers are notified immediately the airplane automatically squaks in other words, broadcasts the emergency code on the transponder that displays on all radar screens for every controller, so everybody’s aware of it, Cowell said.
Cowell noted that any planes that are fitted with Autoland must obtain saftey approval from the Federal Aviation Administration.
FOX31 reached out to the FFA, along with RMMA, regarding the incident, but has not heard a response as of Sunday evening.
FOX31’s Shaul Turner contributed to this report.