Patent ID: 9315263
Filing Date: 2016-04-19
CPC Classification: B64C,B64D

Claim Text:
1. A method of triggering an emergency buoyancy system for an aircraft having a fuselage and two half-wings situated on either side of the fuselage, the method comprising: arranging at least one main inflatable bag in the bottom portion of the fuselage; arranging at least one secondary inflatable bag under each of the two half-wings; arranging at least one retractable wing undercarriage under each of the two half-wings, each retractable wing undercarriage being provided with at least one immersion sensor; fastening each secondary inflatable bag to at least one of (i) a hub of a wheel positioned at the end of each wing undercarriage, and (ii) a hinged support connected to the wing undercarriage by a hinge; priming the emergency buoyancy system; determining whether there is a risk of the aircraft ditching; deploying each retractable wing undercarriage from a retracted position to a deployed position when a risk of ditching is determined; detecting the beginning of an aircraft ditching with at least one of the immersion sensors; and inflating each main and secondary inflatable bag when the aircraft ditching is detected.