Garmin Autoland Frequently Asked Questions

Will Emergency Autoland work if there is GPS jamming?

Answer: Emergency Autoland will engage and command wings level but may not be able to route to a destination.  Emergency Autoland uses GPS approaches and requires it to land.

Will Emergency Autoland try to reach an airport that is outside of the fuel range?

Answer: No. If Emergency Autoland detects that there is not enough fuel to reach a destination, the aircraft will reprioritize the characteristics of a destination for selection and navigate to the closest Emergency Autoland-capable destination.  Characteristics of a favored airport would be ignored in favor of time to the closest destination.  Emergency Autoland capable destinations are airports that meet the configured minimum requirements (length, surface type) and have a GPS approach with vertical guidance.  See Autoland System Limitations for more information.

Is Emergency Autoland restricted from being activated at a particular altitude?

Answer: Autoland is capable of engaging at any altitude.  For example, if engaged within 1,000 feet AGL, the system will attempt to fly at the best rate of climb away from terrain and/or obstacles.

Will Emergency Autoland ditch in the water?

Answer: No. Emergency Autoland will not navigate itself to water.  If it is unable to find an Emergency Autoland-capable destination, it will continue to climb and search (avoiding terrain/obstacles). If the aircraft should run out of fuel, it will go into under speed protection.

Does Emergency Autoland take into consideration emergency services at an airport?

Answer: Autoland does not take into consideration whether emergency personnel are present at the airport in its selection criteria, but the algorithm does prefer towered airports so ATC can handle any specific needs.

What selection criteria does Emergency Autoland take into consideration?

Answer: Runways must be hard surface and have a GPS approach with lateral and vertical guidance.  Additional criteria that is aircraft configurable based on aircraft manufacturer and aircraft type/performance include: runway length, runway width, runway gradient, towered airports, precipitation, winds, fuel on board, weather conditions at the airport, etc.

What message does Emergency Autoland broadcast after making an emergency landing on a runway?

Answer: Emergency Autoland broadcasts "Attention (Destination Airport) Traffic, Aircraft (Tail Number) Disabled on Runway" after the aircraft comes to a stop on the runway.  For example, this message would sound like, "Attention Ottawa Traffic, N1234 Disabled on Runway 35."  This message is broadcasted over the local CTAF frequency, as well as the emergency frequency (121.5).  If the CTAF is unavailable, Autoland will use the Tower frequency, and then the UNICOM frequency.

Can Emergency Autoland automatically activate in-flight if it is not manually activated?

Answer: Yes, under certain conditions, Autoland can activate automatically. Many of these methods are configurable by the aircraft manufacturer. For example, Emergency Descent Mode (EDM) can be used as an automatic Autoland activation trigger. In the event the pilot hasn't interacted with the flight deck for a long period of time, the flight deck will display a message on the flight display that asks the pilot if he or she is alert. At that point, the pilot would select a softkey on the flight deck to acknowledge the message and Autoland would not activate. In the event the pilot has become hypoxic and is not alert, EDM is capable of activating automatically.  At this point, EDM will descend the aircraft to a lower altitude and if the pilot still does not interact with the flight deck, Autoland will automatically engage and land the aircraft.

Another example of an automatic Autoland engagement would be if the aircraft is in Level Mode for an extended period of time (this time period is aircraft OEM-configurable). Also, aircraft OEM's can determine if the pilot hasn't interacted with the flight deck for a specified amount of time during certain times of the day (daytime vs. nighttime), then Autoland is capable of engaging automatically.

Can Emergency Autoland be disengaged if it is accidentally engaged?

Answer: Yes.

How do you deactivate Emergency Autoland?

Answer: Emergency Autoland can be deactivated two different ways - by pressing and holding the AP button on the autopilot mode controller or by pressing and holding the AP disconnect button on the control yoke.

Is there an emergency deactivation method if Emergency Autoland unexpectedly engages in-flight?

Answer: Pressing and holding the AP disconnect will remove power from the autopilot servos, preventing the servos from maneuvering the aircraft.

Would Emergency Autoland guide an airplane to a closed airport or runway?

Answer: Autoland does take closed airports and runways into account, depending on what information is available to the avionics at the current time.

What if the airplane runs out of fuel while Emergency Autoland is engaged?

Answer: Emergency Autoland takes into consideration the amount of fuel on board at the beginning of an Autoland activation and continues to monitor fuel flow and fuel burn throughout the Autoland sequence.  If the aircraft should run out of fuel, it will go into under speed protection.

Will this be a retrofit option?

Answer: It depends on the aircraft manufacturer, but on select models of aircraft Emergency Autoland will be available as a retrofit option.

Will this be available on any other aircraft models?

Answer: Garmin Autoland is now available on select G1000® NXi and G3000® equipped aircraft. More models are coming soon.  Click here to learn more.

Doesn’t Autoland exist on aircraft today?

Answer: This technology is first in its class as it is intended to be used in an emergency and today, no other technology is available or certified in the industry.

What are the weather minimums required for it to consider an airport?

Answer: The weather rating is considered in destination selection and precipitation is avoided in routing. Crosswind limitations of the aircraft are also considered when selecting an airport and runway. 

Can this technology perform automatic take-offs? 

Answer: No, Autoland is solely used in the landing phase of flight.

What if Emergency Autoland is activated during takeoff?

Answer: If Emergency Autoland is activated during takeoff, the system would attempt to climb and search for a valid route that avoids terrain and obstacles within 1000 feet vertically. It should not be advertised as a means to perform an automatic takeoff as it is not able to currently, granularly, avoid terrain and obstacles in all cases on takeoff.

How long has Garmin been working on this?

Answer: Autoland has been in development by Garmin for several years.

Why wouldn’t pilots just have Emergency Autoland land the airplane all the time?

Answer: During an Autoland activation, the system declares an in-flight emergency, therefore this technology is intended to only be used during an emergency.

How is the system tested after maintenance? How can  a pilot ensure the system is armed and ready for flight?

Answer: Autoland required subsystems are tested periodically during maintenance.  Outside of maintenance, depending on airframe, CAS messages and PFD annunciations may appear if a subsystem is not operational.

Is Emergency Autoland capable of avoiding birds?

Answer: No

How does Emergency Autoland know how to land on the runway centerline?

Answer: The Autoland system tracks the synthetic vision centerline which is placed by GPS points. GPS accuracy varies by location and GPS solution. Additionally, the system may land to one side of centerline or other based on dynamics of the landing itself (winds, for example). If the airplane landed to one side or the other of the centerline, the system tracks back to centerline during braking.

When did Garmin begin flight testing Emergency Autoland?

Answer: Initial flight testing began in May 2014. Development (software and hardware) began years prior.

When did Garmin engage the FAA with the Autoland project?

Answer: Initial briefings with the FAA were held in September 2015.

Garmin Autoland | Activation and Deactivation