Decision-support system for aircraft requiring emergency landings

Abstract

A system and method to assist aircraft pilots with rapid decision-making in cases where the pilot needs to make a flight diversion at low altitudes due to an emergency (for example, loss of thrust). Once an emergency need for diversion is detected, the system and method generates a list of alternative airports the plane can reach given: (i) the current conditions of the plane; (ii) a real-emergency time simulation of evolving conditions of the plane; (iii) the environment at potential landing sites; and (iv) the environment on the flight path to those sites. For airports potentially within reach, the system and method provides a confidence scores for successful landings for alternative simulated landing options. The simulations and confidence scores take into account aircraft position, altitude, speed, and possible further problems with the aircraft for the both the current flight path and for each simulated alternative.