Patent ID: 8588996

Claim:
An occupant protection system for an aircraft, the system comprising: a sensor system for sensing flight information associated with the flight of the aircraft; a control system including an impending crash detection system and an impact detection system; a first group of aircraft systems each configurable for impact mode, wherein: the impending crash detection system receives at least some of the flight information from the sensor system and determines whether a crash is likely to occur based at least in part on the received flight information, the impending crash detection system is configured to provide an impending crash signal to the first group of aircraft systems if the impending crash detection system determines that a crash is likely to occur, and the first group of aircraft systems are configured to automatically initiate impact mode upon receipt of the impending crash signal from the impending crash detection system; and a second group of aircraft systems each configurable for impact mode, wherein: the impact detection system receives at least some of the flight information from the sensor system and determines whether an impact has occurred based at least in part on the received flight information, wherein the impact detection system is configured to provide an impact signal to the second group of aircraft systems if the impact detection system determines that an impact has occurred, wherein the second group of aircraft systems are configured to automatically initiate impact mode upon receipt of the impact signal from the impact detection system, wherein the second group of aircraft systems comprises at least one of a soft pedal system, a fuel shutoff system, a fuel tank ventilation system, a fire extinguisher system, an egress lighting system, a door latch system, an emergency locator transmitter system.