Patent ID: 8326471

Claim:
A method of detecting the misalignment of a first point in space included in a trajectory of an aircraft flight plan, said aircraft having a Flight Management System (FMS) the flight plan comprising a second and a third point in succession and preceding the first point and a fourth and a fifth point in succession and subsequent to the first point, each point being identified by a latitude and longitude, the method comprising the steps of: calculating, using said FMS, a first acute angle formed by a first segment joining the second and the third points and a second segment joining the third and the fourth points; calculating, using said FMS, a second acute angle formed by the second segment and a third segment joining the fourth and the fifth points; comparing the first and second angles respectively to a first maximum reference value and to a second maximum reference value; and generating, using said FMS, an indication concerning the context of the first point: corresponding to a turn context, if the first or the second angle exceeds its own maximum reference value, and in which the calculation of a misalignment of the first point is not performed; corresponding to a context in which the misalignment of the first point is calculated, if the first and the second angles are respectively less than their maximum reference value, the misalignment detection method comprising a defining a polygon having an area in which the absence of the first point indicates misalignment of said first point.