Patent ID: 8275501

Claim:
A method for aiding the piloting of an aircraft during a landing phase at an airport having a plurality of landing runways, the method comprising: a) determining by a runway determination device one of said landing runways onto which to land the aircraft; b) determining characteristics of the landing runway determined in step a); c) determining by a position determining unit a current position of the aircraft in a reference frame related to said determined landing runway; and d) estimating by an estimation unit, upon the aircraft passing a given height above said determined landing runway, minimum braking distance, wherein the estimation unit: calculates by an aerial phase distance calculator a distance APD which relates to an aerial phase above the determined landing runway, wherein the calculator calculates the distance APD with aid of a current position of the aircraft with respect to a standard descent plane and the distance APD corresponds to distance covered in the aerial phase by the aircraft at tru air speed for a given duration, calculates by a ground distance calculator a distance GPD of ground distance between ground touchdown by the aircraft and definitive stopping of said aircraft with aid of said performance model, wherein the distance GPD is calculated using a performance model of the aircraft, which is calibrated on maximum operational braking capabilities and the distance GPD depends on aerodynamic position of slats and flaps of the aircraft during landing, and computes by a summation computer a sum of said distances APD and GPD and deduces therefrom said minimum braking distance; comparing by a distance comparison unit the minimum braking distance with a length of said determined landing runway; and emitting an alert by an alert unit, when said minimum braking distance is greater than the length of said determined landing runway, wherein the alert is automatically emitted in a flight deck of the aircraft and inform a crew that aircraft braking capability is not be sufficient to stop the aircraft safely on said landing runway, wherein said minimum braking distance is estimated in accordance with standard descent plane towards said landing runway and of a performance model of the aircraft which is calibrated on maximum operational braking capabilities of the aircraft.