The FAA says it is investigating the activation of the Garmin Autoland system on a King Air 200 in Colorado on Saturday.

It issued the following statement. “A Beechcraft Super King Air landed safely at Rocky Mountain Metropolitan Airport in Colorado around 2:20 p.m. local time on Saturday, Dec. 20, after the pilot lost communication with air traffic control. An onboard emergency autoland system was activated. Two people were on board. The FAA is investigating.”

The agency declined to elaborate on the nature of its investigation, but CBS News reported a pressurization issue was involved in the Autoland activation. The Fox News affiliate in Denver reported that the local fire department was puzzled by the emergency response to the airport since neither of the men on the plane required treatment or transport to a hospital.

In the event of a depressurization, the Garmin system immediately begins an emergency descent to 15,000 feet, and if the pilots do not intervene, the Autoland sequence begins automatically.

The NTSB is also looking into it, and it, too, is not providing any detail. “We are aware of the event and currently collecting information to determine if it meets the criteria for an investigation,” the NTSB said in a statement.

Garmin earlier confirmed it was the first non-test use of its Autoland system. “Garmin can confirm that an emergency Autoland activation occurred at Rocky Mountain Metropolitan Airport in Broomfield, Colorado,” the company said in a statement Sunday. “The Autoland took place on Sat., Dec. 20, resulting in a successful landing. We look forward to sharing additional details at the appropriate time.” Garmin also said it was the system's first non-test, non-demo use.

The Autoland system was initiated and landed the aircraft at Rocky Mountain Metropolitan Airport near Denver. A recording from LiveATC’s feed of the airport’s tower frequency includes a robotic female voice declaring a pilot incapacitation and the intention to land on Runway 30. The aircraft landed successfully, and there have been no reports of injuries. 

The aircraft, N479BR, was being operated by Buffalo River Outfitters from Aspen to Rocky Mountain Metropolitan. It’s not clear how many people were on board. The system appeared to work flawlessly, and the controller at Rocky Mountain Metropolitan seemed to take it in stride, accommodating as many requests as he could before shutting down the airport for the landing. 

The aircraft took off first thing on Sunday morning for Oklahoma City, which is a major certification technical center for the FAA. 

Source: avbrief.com