A method for computing flight controls for landing a vehicle, comprising: before a descent transition point, receiving from a cloud service a landing zone confirmation including landing zone location information, expected landing zone mapping data and an indication that a landing zone is clear; determining a landing flight path based on the landing zone location information; upon the vehicle starting a descent to the landing zone using the landing flight path: performing a descent cross-check process to determine whether an unsafe condition is present by: receiving landing zone data from at least one of a radar system, a camera system, an altitude and heading reference system (AHRS), and a GPS system; and performing an analysis based on the landing zone data to determine whether the unsafe condition exists, wherein the descent cross-check process comprises a profile check process and a scanning confirmation process, wherein the scanning confirmation process comprises: controlling (805, 835) the radar systems to scan and map the landing zone; and comparing (810, 815, 840) the landing zone mapping data to the expected landing zone mapping data; and based on the analysis, computing flight controls for the vehicle to continue the descent or modify the descent. before a descent transition point, receiving from a cloud service a landing zone confirmation including landing zone location information, expected landing zone mapping data and an indication that a landing zone is clear; determining a landing flight path based on the landing zone location information; upon the vehicle starting a descent to the landing zone using the landing flight path: performing a descent cross-check process to determine whether an unsafe condition is present by: receiving landing zone data from at least one of a radar system, a camera system, an altitude and heading reference system (AHRS), and a GPS system; and performing an analysis based on the landing zone data to determine whether the unsafe condition exists, wherein the descent cross-check process comprises a profile check process and a scanning confirmation process, wherein the scanning confirmation process comprises: controlling (805, 835) the radar systems to scan and map the landing zone; and comparing (810, 815, 840) the landing zone mapping data to the expected landing zone mapping data; and receiving landing zone data from at least one of a radar system, a camera system, an altitude and heading reference system (AHRS), and a GPS system; and performing an analysis based on the landing zone data to determine whether the unsafe condition exists, wherein the descent cross-check process comprises a profile check process and a scanning confirmation process, wherein the scanning confirmation process comprises: controlling (805, 835) the radar systems to scan and map the landing zone; and comparing (810, 815, 840) the landing zone mapping data to the expected landing zone mapping data; and controlling (805, 835) the radar systems to scan and map the landing zone; and comparing (810, 815, 840) the landing zone mapping data to the expected landing zone mapping data; and based on the analysis, computing flight controls for the vehicle to continue the descent or modify the descent.