Patent ID: 9199724
Filing Date: 2015-12-01
Classification: B64C,G05D

Abstract:
1. A method for controlling an emergency descent by an aircraft, comprising: activating an autopilot in response to an occurrence of both (i) the aircraft is above a predefined altitude and (ii) a cabin altitude of the aircraft reaches a predefined level, to initiate the emergency descent; determining an airspeed for the aircraft to maintain in the emergency descent; categorizing potential hazards in the vicinity of the aircraft by assigning a level of risk to each potential hazard, wherein the potential hazards comprise: identifying a flight path, which either avoids the potential hazards or which represents the lowest level of risk in view of the potential hazards; transmitting a message conveying the initializing of the emergency descent by at least one of the actions selected from the group consisting of: configuring the aircraft for the emergency descent; and commanding the aircraft to fly the airspeed and the flight path by the autopilot until a crewmember disengages the autopilot.