{ "id": "AIBD-0153", "title": "Garmin Autoland engages after a King Air B200 loses cabin pressure at 23,000 ft and lands it at Broomfield, Colorado, in its first real emergency use", "summary": "On 20 December 2025 Garmin Autoland flew a depressurised King Air B200 to a landing at Rocky Mountain Metropolitan Airport; two pilots unhurt.", "date_observed": "2025-12-20", "date_basis": "unassessed", "date_precision": "unassessed", "benefit_status": null, "source_collection": null, "source_entry": null, "account": "On Saturday 20 December 2025 Buffalo River Aviation's Beechcraft Super King Air B200, N479BR, left Aspen-Pitkin County Airport at 1:43 p.m. It carried two pilots and no passengers. At about 23,000 ft it suffered a rapid, uncommanded loss of pressurization. When cabin altitude passed the safe limit, Garmin Autoland engaged automatically. It sent automated emergency broadcasts to air traffic control. It flew the aircraft to a landing on Runway 30 at Rocky Mountain Metropolitan Airport, Broomfield, Colorado, shortly after 2 p.m. The crew chose to leave it engaged. Nobody was treated. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said it was investigating and the NTSB that it was gathering information. Garmin called it the first use of Autoland from start to finish in an actual emergency.", "category": "protective response", "unexpected": false, "purpose": "Autoland exists to take complete control of an aircraft and land it when the pilot cannot fly. It engages on its own when cabin altitude exceeds a set level. That is what happened here. The two pilots turned out not to be incapacitated, though, and chose to let it finish.", "system": "Garmin Autoland (Emergency Autoland)", "model_version": null, "developer": "Garmin", "deployer": "Buffalo River Aviation", "location": "Broomfield, United States", "domain": "Aviation safety / automatic emergency landing", "segment": "Charter turboprop operations", "benefit_type": "Increased Product Safety", "taxonomy_note": null, "registry_ids": { "oecd_aim": "2025-12-22-41ce" }, "ratings": [ { "group": "personal", "depth": 2, "reason": "Two pilots who had lost cabin pressure at 23,000 ft were on the ground in Broomfield within about 35 minutes of departure, untreated and uninjured. They were conscious and could have flown the descent themselves. So the benefit is a safe automatic recovery, not a documented life saved." }, { "group": "organizational", "depth": 1, "reason": "Buffalo River Aviation's aircraft “landed safely without incident”, in the airport spokeswoman's words. No damage is reported, and the FAA investigation was still open." } ], "ai_role": { "status": "assessed", "statement": "Autoland engaged itself when cabin altitude exceeded the limit. It declared the emergency to controllers with automated “pilot incapacitation” broadcasts. It flew the descent, approach and landing. The pilots elected to leave it engaged rather than take over. So the landing is the system's work. But the counterfactual, that they could not have landed, is not established. Garmin, the FAA and the operator all call it an automated system. None calls it AI. It is here because the OECD Monitor lists it as an AI system. The Register describes it choosing landing sites from runway length, distance and fuel range." }, "evidence": [ { "kind": "news report", "citation": "Sarah Horbacewicz / CBS News Colorado (2025). Plane makes safe emergency landing in Colorado without a pilot's help, first 'Autoland' use. CBS News, 22 December 2025.", "title": "Plane makes safe emergency landing in Colorado without a pilot's help, first 'Autoland' use", "url": "https://www.cbsnews.com/colorado/news/plane-emergency-landing-colorado-autoland/", "date": "2025-12-22", "written_by": "independent", "quote": "An onboard emergency autoland system was activated. Two people were on board. The FAA is investigating." }, { "kind": "news report", "citation": "Sam Sweeney and Ayesha Ali / ABC News (2025). Small plane lands safely with Autoland system after pilot is incapacitated. ABC News, 22 December 2025.", "title": "Small plane lands safely with Autoland system after pilot is incapacitated", "url": "https://abcnews.com/US/small-plane-lands-safely-autoland-system-after-pilot/story?id=128629603", "date": "2025-12-22", "written_by": "independent", "quote": "first use of Autoland from start-to-finish in an actual emergency" }, { "kind": "news report", "citation": "Jude Karabus / The Register (2025). Garmin autopilot lands small plane without pilot's help. The Register, 24 December 2025.", "title": "Garmin autopilot lands small plane without pilot's help", "url": "https://www.theregister.com/2025/12/24/autocomms/", "date": "2025-12-24", "written_by": "independent", "quote": "automatically engaged exactly as designed when the cabin altitude exceeded the prescribed safe levels" }, { "kind": "news report", "citation": "Katie Parkins and Óscar Contreras / Denver7 (2025). In a first, plane makes emergency landing at RMMA using automated technology due to 'pilot incapacitation'. Denver7 (KMGH), 22 December 2025.", "title": "In a first, plane makes emergency landing at RMMA using automated technology due to 'pilot incapacitation'", "url": "https://www.denver7.com/news/front-range/broomfield/in-a-first-plane-makes-emergency-landing-at-rmma-using-automated-technology-due-to-pilot-incapacitation", "date": "2025-12-22", "written_by": "independent", "quote": "no one on the plane was treated on scene or taken to a hospital" }, { "kind": "news report", "citation": "Matt Ryan / AVweb (2025). Garmin Autoland Safely Lands King Air After Pilot Incapacitation. AVweb, 22 December 2025.", "title": "Garmin Autoland Safely Lands King Air After Pilot Incapacitation", "url": "https://avweb.com/aviation-news/garmin-autoland-safely-lands-king-air/", "date": "2025-12-22", "written_by": "independent", "quote": "transmitting automated broadcasts indicating a pilot incapacitation and intent to conduct an emergency autoland" }, { "kind": "news report", "citation": "Rachel Dobkin / The Independent (2025). Airplane automatically lands itself after an inflight emergency. The Independent, syndicated on Yahoo News, 24 December 2025.", "title": "Airplane automatically lands itself after an inflight emergency", "url": "https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/airplane-automatically-lands-itself-inflight-044612392.html", "date": "2025-12-24", "written_by": "independent", "quote": "No patients were treated on scene or transported to local hospitals." } ], "replication": { "produced_by": [ "An aircraft fitted with Garmin Autoland. Garmin says more than 1,700 are equipped.", "A rapid, uncommanded loss of pressurization that pushed cabin altitude past the system's automatic trigger.", "A crew that decided to let the automatic sequence run to touchdown rather than take over." ], "must_hold": [ "The aircraft remains airworthy. Autoland is a fail-safe for a working aircraft whose pilot cannot fly it, in the words of the journalist CBS quoted.", "A suitable airport is in range. The Register describes selection by runway length, distance and fuel range.", "Controllers and ground services act on the automated broadcasts, as Broomfield's two fire departments did." ], "echoes": [] }, "paired_incident": null, "headline": "Garmin Autoland lands depressurised King Air B200; pilots unhurt", "metric": "two pilots unhurt", "comparator": null, "later": { "status": "unknown", "date": null, "note": "The FAA said it was investigating and the NTSB that it was collecting information to decide whether the event met its criteria; no FAA or NTSB report or other development after December 2025 was found. The aircraft flew on to Oklahoma City the next morning.", "quote": null, "url": null }, "value": null, "developer_country": "Switzerland", "deployer_country": "United States", "unrated_because": null, "brief_notes": null, "brief": null, "revisions": [ { "date": "2026-10-20", "change": "Record drafted from the OECD Monitor entry and six news reports. The Monitor dates the event 22 December 2025; every report puts the landing on Saturday 20 December, which is used here. Early reports (AVweb, Denver7, ABC's headline) said the pilot was incapacitated; the operator's CEO, quoted by CBS, ABC and The Register, says the system engaged on cabin-altitude exceedance and the crew were not incapacitated. Filed as protective response with prevention unproven rather than the classifier's specific harm prevented because the crew were conscious and elected to leave the system engaged, so no counterfactual is established. Aircraft type is given as Super King Air 200 (ABC, Denver7) and King Air B200 (AVweb, The Register). The Monitor's General Aviation News and FOX31 follow-up links returned HTTP 403, AVweb's “crew decision” piece returned 404, and the Independent blocked fetching, so its Yahoo syndication is cited. Garmin's Autonomí pages returned only navigation, so no vendor source is cited; Garmin's statements are quoted via the news reports.", "source": "https://oecd.ai/en/incidents/2025-12-22-41ce", "editor": "AIBD" }, { "date": "2026-10-21", "change": "Benefit type set to Increased Product Safety under Trustible's full taxonomy of 23 types; it was Improved Organizational Efficiency among the six first used.", "source": "https://trustible.ai/post/a-framework-for-measuring-the-benefits-of-ai/", "editor": "AIBD" }, { "date": "2026-10-21", "change": "Country of the developer and the deployer added from the organization's own site or a registry.", "source": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garmin; https://buffaloriveraviation.com/", "editor": "AIBD" }, { "date": "2026-10-21", "change": "Prose pass: a rating reason, account, purpose, the replication conditions, the system's part rewritten in shorter sentences with abbreviations expanded; facts, figures and quotations unchanged.", "source": null, "editor": "AIBD" } ], "confidence": "reported", "shade": "medium", "claim_status": "Independently reported", "claim_basis": "Sources: six independent news reports. The cited evidence includes no independent study or report and no finding by a regulator or court.", "profile": { "case_id": "AIBD-0153", "catalog_version": "1.0.0", "source_fingerprint": "e067d3612528a25b90b00340bad1e609571c414ab9142cd0bea9cf9db371b9b5", "collection_refs": [ { "collection_id": "aibd", "version": "snapshot-8bf7cfec9cb185aa" }, { "collection_id": "aibd", "version": "2026-10-25" }, { "collection_id": "viator", "version": "2026-10-25" }, { "collection_id": "adyt", "version": "2026-10-25" }, { "collection_id": "chanticleer", "version": "2026-10-25" } ], "source_ids": [ "AIBD-0153-source-0001", "AIBD-0153-source-0002", "AIBD-0153-source-0003", "AIBD-0153-source-0004", "AIBD-0153-source-0005", "AIBD-0153-source-0006" ], "families": { "strategic assessments": { "state": "not_assessed", "review_state": "not_assessed", "coverage": "partial", "record_ids": [] }, "evaluations": { "state": "not_assessed", "review_state": "not_assessed", "coverage": "partial", "record_ids": [] }, "monetary observations": { "state": "not_assessed", "review_state": "not_assessed", "coverage": "partial", "record_ids": [] }, "institutional decisions": { "state": "not_assessed", "review_state": "not_assessed", "coverage": "partial", "record_ids": [] } }, "fields": { "actors[]": { "state": "value_present", "value": { "kind": "record_fields", "fields": { "developer": "Garmin", "deployer": "Buffalo River Aviation" } }, "provenance": { "kind": "legacy_record", "basis": "Preserved from the existing AIBD record; external sources were not rechecked.", "record_fields": [ "developer", "deployer" ], "source_refs": [] }, "review_state": "record_mapped", "coverage": "partial" }, "actors[].ownership_control": { "state": "not_assessed", "review_state": "not_assessed", "coverage": "partial" }, "ai_contribution": { "state": "value_present", "value": { "kind": "record_fields", "fields": { "ai_role": { "status": "assessed", "statement": "Autoland engaged itself when cabin altitude exceeded the limit. It declared the emergency to controllers with automated “pilot incapacitation” broadcasts. It flew the descent, approach and landing. The pilots elected to leave it engaged rather than take over. So the landing is the system's work. But the counterfactual, that they could not have landed, is not established. Garmin, the FAA and the operator all call it an automated system. None calls it AI. It is here because the OECD Monitor lists it as an AI system. The Register describes it choosing landing sites from runway length, distance and fuel range." } } }, "provenance": { "kind": "legacy_record", "basis": "Preserved from the existing AIBD record; external sources were not rechecked.", "record_fields": [ "ai_role" ], "source_refs": [] }, "review_state": "record_mapped", "coverage": "partial" }, "ai_relationship": { "state": "value_present", "value": { "kind": "record_fields", "fields": { "category": "protective response", "ai_role": { "status": "assessed", "statement": "Autoland engaged itself when cabin altitude exceeded the limit. It declared the emergency to controllers with automated “pilot incapacitation” broadcasts. It flew the descent, approach and landing. The pilots elected to leave it engaged rather than take over. So the landing is the system's work. But the counterfactual, that they could not have landed, is not established. Garmin, the FAA and the operator all call it an automated system. None calls it AI. It is here because the OECD Monitor lists it as an AI system. The Register describes it choosing landing sites from runway length, distance and fuel range." } } }, "provenance": { "kind": "legacy_record", "basis": "Preserved from the existing AIBD record; external sources were not rechecked.", "record_fields": [ "ai_role", "category" ], "source_refs": [] }, "review_state": "record_mapped", "coverage": "partial" }, "assessments[].alternatives": { "state": "not_assessed", "review_state": "not_assessed", "coverage": "partial" }, "assessments[].assessor_date": { "state": "not_assessed", "review_state": "not_assessed", "coverage": "partial" }, "assessments[].depth": { "state": "value_present", "value": { "kind": "record_fields", "fields": { "ratings": [ { "group": "personal", "depth": 2, "reason": "Two pilots who had lost cabin pressure at 23,000 ft were on the ground in Broomfield within about 35 minutes of departure, untreated and uninjured. 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At about 23,000 ft it suffered a rapid, uncommanded loss of pressurization. When cabin altitude passed the safe limit, Garmin Autoland engaged automatically. It sent automated emergency broadcasts to air traffic control. It flew the aircraft to a landing on Runway 30 at Rocky Mountain Metropolitan Airport, Broomfield, Colorado, shortly after 2 p.m. The crew chose to leave it engaged. Nobody was treated. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said it was investigating and the NTSB that it was gathering information. Garmin called it the first use of Autoland from start to finish in an actual emergency.", "benefit_type": "Increased Product Safety" } }, "provenance": { "kind": "legacy_record", "basis": "Preserved from the existing AIBD record; external sources were not rechecked.", "record_fields": [ "account", "benefit_type" ], "source_refs": [] }, "review_state": "record_mapped", "coverage": "partial" }, "outcomes[].distribution": { "state": "not_assessed", "review_state": "not_assessed", "coverage": "partial" }, "outcomes[].duration": { "state": "not_assessed", "review_state": "not_assessed", "coverage": "partial" }, "outcomes[].id": { "state": "not_assessed", "review_state": "not_assessed", "coverage": "partial" }, "outcomes[].stakeholder_group": { "state": "value_present", "value": { "kind": "record_fields", "fields": { "ratings": [ { "group": "personal", "depth": 2, "reason": "Two pilots who had lost cabin pressure at 23,000 ft were on the ground in Broomfield within about 35 minutes of departure, untreated and uninjured. They were conscious and could have flown the descent themselves. So the benefit is a safe automatic recovery, not a documented life saved." }, { "group": "organizational", "depth": 1, "reason": "Buffalo River Aviation's aircraft “landed safely without incident”, in the airport spokeswoman's words. No damage is reported, and the FAA investigation was still open." } ] } }, "provenance": { "kind": "legacy_record", "basis": "Preserved from the existing AIBD record; external sources were not rechecked.", "record_fields": [ "ratings" ], "source_refs": [] }, "review_state": "record_mapped", "coverage": "partial" }, "outcomes[].status": { "state": "not_assessed", "review_state": "not_assessed", "coverage": "partial" }, "outcomes[].tradeoffs": { "state": "not_assessed", "review_state": "not_assessed", "coverage": "partial" }, "outcomes[].unexpected": { "state": "value_present", "value": { "kind": "record_fields", "fields": { "unexpected": false, "purpose": "Autoland exists to take complete control of an aircraft and land it when the pilot cannot fly. It engages on its own when cabin altitude exceeds a set level. That is what happened here. The two pilots turned out not to be incapacitated, though, and chose to let it finish." } }, "provenance": { "kind": "legacy_record", "basis": "Preserved from the existing AIBD record; external sources were not rechecked.", "record_fields": [ "unexpected", "purpose" ], "source_refs": [] }, "review_state": "record_mapped", "coverage": "partial" }, "places[]": { "state": "value_present", "value": { "kind": "record_fields", "fields": { "location": "Broomfield, United States", "developer_country": "Switzerland", "deployer_country": "United States" } }, "provenance": { "kind": "legacy_record", "basis": "Preserved from the existing AIBD record; external sources were not rechecked.", "record_fields": [ "location", "developer_country", "deployer_country" ], "source_refs": [] }, "review_state": "record_mapped", "coverage": "partial" }, "purpose": { "state": "value_present", "value": { "kind": "record_fields", "fields": { "purpose": "Autoland exists to take complete control of an aircraft and land it when the pilot cannot fly. It engages on its own when cabin altitude exceeds a set level. That is what happened here. The two pilots turned out not to be incapacitated, though, and chose to let it finish." } }, "provenance": { "kind": "legacy_record", "basis": "Preserved from the existing AIBD record; external sources were not rechecked.", "record_fields": [ "purpose" ], "source_refs": [] }, "review_state": "record_mapped", "coverage": "partial" }, "record_dates": { "state": "value_present", "value": { "kind": "record_fields", "fields": { "date_observed": "2025-12-20", "revisions": [ { "date": "2026-10-20", "change": "Record drafted from the OECD Monitor entry and six news reports. The Monitor dates the event 22 December 2025; every report puts the landing on Saturday 20 December, which is used here. Early reports (AVweb, Denver7, ABC's headline) said the pilot was incapacitated; the operator's CEO, quoted by CBS, ABC and The Register, says the system engaged on cabin-altitude exceedance and the crew were not incapacitated. Filed as protective response with prevention unproven rather than the classifier's specific harm prevented because the crew were conscious and elected to leave the system engaged, so no counterfactual is established. Aircraft type is given as Super King Air 200 (ABC, Denver7) and King Air B200 (AVweb, The Register). The Monitor's General Aviation News and FOX31 follow-up links returned HTTP 403, AVweb's “crew decision” piece returned 404, and the Independent blocked fetching, so its Yahoo syndication is cited. Garmin's Autonomí pages returned only navigation, so no vendor source is cited; Garmin's statements are quoted via the news reports.", "source": "https://oecd.ai/en/incidents/2025-12-22-41ce", "editor": "AIBD" }, { "date": "2026-10-21", "change": "Benefit type set to Increased Product Safety under Trustible's full taxonomy of 23 types; it was Improved Organizational Efficiency among the six first used.", "source": "https://trustible.ai/post/a-framework-for-measuring-the-benefits-of-ai/", "editor": "AIBD" }, { "date": "2026-10-21", "change": "Country of the developer and the deployer added from the organization's own site or a registry.", "source": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garmin; https://buffaloriveraviation.com/", "editor": "AIBD" }, { "date": "2026-10-21", "change": "Prose pass: a rating reason, account, purpose, the replication conditions, the system's part rewritten in shorter sentences with abbreviations expanded; facts, figures and quotations unchanged.", "editor": "AIBD" } ] } }, "provenance": { "kind": "legacy_record", "basis": "Preserved from the existing AIBD record; external sources were not rechecked.", "record_fields": [ "date_observed", "revisions" ], "source_refs": [] }, "review_state": "record_mapped", "coverage": "partial" }, "replication.attempts[]": { "state": "not_assessed", "review_state": "not_assessed", "coverage": "partial" }, "replication.conditions": { "state": "value_present", "value": { "kind": "record_fields", "fields": { "replication": { "produced_by": [ "An aircraft fitted with Garmin Autoland. Garmin says more than 1,700 are equipped.", "A rapid, uncommanded loss of pressurization that pushed cabin altitude past the system's automatic trigger.", "A crew that decided to let the automatic sequence run to touchdown rather than take over." ], "must_hold": [ "The aircraft remains airworthy. Autoland is a fail-safe for a working aircraft whose pilot cannot fly it, in the words of the journalist CBS quoted.", "A suitable airport is in range. The Register describes selection by runway length, distance and fuel range.", "Controllers and ground services act on the automated broadcasts, as Broomfield's two fire departments did." ], "echoes": [] } } }, "provenance": { "kind": "legacy_record", "basis": "Preserved from the existing AIBD record; external sources were not rechecked.", "record_fields": [ "replication" ], "source_refs": [] }, "review_state": "record_mapped", "coverage": "partial" }, "revision_history[]": { "state": "value_present", "value": { "kind": "record_fields", "fields": { "revisions": [ { "date": "2026-10-20", "change": "Record drafted from the OECD Monitor entry and six news reports. The Monitor dates the event 22 December 2025; every report puts the landing on Saturday 20 December, which is used here. Early reports (AVweb, Denver7, ABC's headline) said the pilot was incapacitated; the operator's CEO, quoted by CBS, ABC and The Register, says the system engaged on cabin-altitude exceedance and the crew were not incapacitated. Filed as protective response with prevention unproven rather than the classifier's specific harm prevented because the crew were conscious and elected to leave the system engaged, so no counterfactual is established. Aircraft type is given as Super King Air 200 (ABC, Denver7) and King Air B200 (AVweb, The Register). The Monitor's General Aviation News and FOX31 follow-up links returned HTTP 403, AVweb's “crew decision” piece returned 404, and the Independent blocked fetching, so its Yahoo syndication is cited. Garmin's Autonomí pages returned only navigation, so no vendor source is cited; Garmin's statements are quoted via the news reports.", "source": "https://oecd.ai/en/incidents/2025-12-22-41ce", "editor": "AIBD" }, { "date": "2026-10-21", "change": "Benefit type set to Increased Product Safety under Trustible's full taxonomy of 23 types; it was Improved Organizational Efficiency among the six first used.", "source": "https://trustible.ai/post/a-framework-for-measuring-the-benefits-of-ai/", "editor": "AIBD" }, { "date": "2026-10-21", "change": "Country of the developer and the deployer added from the organization's own site or a registry.", "source": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garmin; https://buffaloriveraviation.com/", "editor": "AIBD" }, { "date": "2026-10-21", "change": "Prose pass: a rating reason, account, purpose, the replication conditions, the system's part rewritten in shorter sentences with abbreviations expanded; facts, figures and quotations unchanged.", "editor": "AIBD" } ] } }, "provenance": { "kind": "legacy_record", "basis": "Preserved from the existing AIBD record; external sources were not rechecked.", "record_fields": [ "revisions" ], "source_refs": [] }, "review_state": "record_mapped", "coverage": "partial" }, "sector": { "state": "value_present", "value": { "kind": "record_fields", "fields": { "domain": "Aviation safety / automatic emergency landing", "segment": "Charter turboprop operations" } }, "provenance": { "kind": "legacy_record", "basis": "Preserved from the existing AIBD record; external sources were not rechecked.", "record_fields": [ "domain", "segment" ], "source_refs": [] }, "review_state": "record_mapped", "coverage": "partial" }, "sources[].access_version": { "state": "not_assessed", "review_state": "not_assessed", "coverage": "partial" }, "sources[].citation_locator": { "state": "value_present", "value": { "kind": "record_fields", "fields": { "evidence": [ { "kind": "news report", "citation": "Sarah Horbacewicz / CBS News Colorado (2025). Plane makes safe emergency landing in Colorado without a pilot's help, first 'Autoland' use. CBS News, 22 December 2025.", "title": "Plane makes safe emergency landing in Colorado without a pilot's help, first 'Autoland' use", "url": "https://www.cbsnews.com/colorado/news/plane-emergency-landing-colorado-autoland/", "date": "2025-12-22", "written_by": "independent", "quote": "An onboard emergency autoland system was activated. Two people were on board. The FAA is investigating." }, { "kind": "news report", "citation": "Sam Sweeney and Ayesha Ali / ABC News (2025). Small plane lands safely with Autoland system after pilot is incapacitated. ABC News, 22 December 2025.", "title": "Small plane lands safely with Autoland system after pilot is incapacitated", "url": "https://abcnews.com/US/small-plane-lands-safely-autoland-system-after-pilot/story?id=128629603", "date": "2025-12-22", "written_by": "independent", "quote": "first use of Autoland from start-to-finish in an actual emergency" }, { "kind": "news report", "citation": "Jude Karabus / The Register (2025). Garmin autopilot lands small plane without pilot's help. The Register, 24 December 2025.", "title": "Garmin autopilot lands small plane without pilot's help", "url": "https://www.theregister.com/2025/12/24/autocomms/", "date": "2025-12-24", "written_by": "independent", "quote": "automatically engaged exactly as designed when the cabin altitude exceeded the prescribed safe levels" }, { "kind": "news report", "citation": "Katie Parkins and Óscar Contreras / Denver7 (2025). In a first, plane makes emergency landing at RMMA using automated technology due to 'pilot incapacitation'. Denver7 (KMGH), 22 December 2025.", "title": "In a first, plane makes emergency landing at RMMA using automated technology due to 'pilot incapacitation'", "url": "https://www.denver7.com/news/front-range/broomfield/in-a-first-plane-makes-emergency-landing-at-rmma-using-automated-technology-due-to-pilot-incapacitation", "date": "2025-12-22", "written_by": "independent", "quote": "no one on the plane was treated on scene or taken to a hospital" }, { "kind": "news report", "citation": "Matt Ryan / AVweb (2025). Garmin Autoland Safely Lands King Air After Pilot Incapacitation. AVweb, 22 December 2025.", "title": "Garmin Autoland Safely Lands King Air After Pilot Incapacitation", "url": "https://avweb.com/aviation-news/garmin-autoland-safely-lands-king-air/", "date": "2025-12-22", "written_by": "independent", "quote": "transmitting automated broadcasts indicating a pilot incapacitation and intent to conduct an emergency autoland" }, { "kind": "news report", "citation": "Rachel Dobkin / The Independent (2025). Airplane automatically lands itself after an inflight emergency. The Independent, syndicated on Yahoo News, 24 December 2025.", "title": "Airplane automatically lands itself after an inflight emergency", "url": "https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/airplane-automatically-lands-itself-inflight-044612392.html", "date": "2025-12-24", "written_by": "independent", "quote": "No patients were treated on scene or transported to local hospitals." } ] } }, "provenance": { "kind": "legacy_record", "basis": "Preserved from the existing AIBD record; external sources were not rechecked.", "record_fields": [ "evidence" ], "source_refs": [] }, "review_state": "record_mapped", "coverage": "partial" }, "sources[].id": { "state": "value_present", "value": { "kind": "identifiers", "identifiers": [ "AIBD-0153-source-0001", "AIBD-0153-source-0002", "AIBD-0153-source-0003", "AIBD-0153-source-0004", "AIBD-0153-source-0005", "AIBD-0153-source-0006" ], "role": "Existing evidence items, in their original order" }, "provenance": { "kind": "curatorial", "basis": "Stable within the fingerprinted record version; no source content or source review has been added.", "record_fields": [], "source_refs": [] }, "review_state": "record_mapped", "coverage": "complete" }, "sources[].language": { "state": "not_assessed", "review_state": "not_assessed", "coverage": "partial" }, "sources[].relationship": { "state": "value_present", "value": { "kind": "record_fields", "fields": { "evidence": [ { "kind": "news report", "citation": "Sarah Horbacewicz / CBS News Colorado (2025). Plane makes safe emergency landing in Colorado without a pilot's help, first 'Autoland' use. CBS News, 22 December 2025.", "title": "Plane makes safe emergency landing in Colorado without a pilot's help, first 'Autoland' use", "url": "https://www.cbsnews.com/colorado/news/plane-emergency-landing-colorado-autoland/", "date": "2025-12-22", "written_by": "independent", "quote": "An onboard emergency autoland system was activated. Two people were on board. The FAA is investigating." }, { "kind": "news report", "citation": "Sam Sweeney and Ayesha Ali / ABC News (2025). Small plane lands safely with Autoland system after pilot is incapacitated. ABC News, 22 December 2025.", "title": "Small plane lands safely with Autoland system after pilot is incapacitated", "url": "https://abcnews.com/US/small-plane-lands-safely-autoland-system-after-pilot/story?id=128629603", "date": "2025-12-22", "written_by": "independent", "quote": "first use of Autoland from start-to-finish in an actual emergency" }, { "kind": "news report", "citation": "Jude Karabus / The Register (2025). Garmin autopilot lands small plane without pilot's help. The Register, 24 December 2025.", "title": "Garmin autopilot lands small plane without pilot's help", "url": "https://www.theregister.com/2025/12/24/autocomms/", "date": "2025-12-24", "written_by": "independent", "quote": "automatically engaged exactly as designed when the cabin altitude exceeded the prescribed safe levels" }, { "kind": "news report", "citation": "Katie Parkins and Óscar Contreras / Denver7 (2025). In a first, plane makes emergency landing at RMMA using automated technology due to 'pilot incapacitation'. Denver7 (KMGH), 22 December 2025.", "title": "In a first, plane makes emergency landing at RMMA using automated technology due to 'pilot incapacitation'", "url": "https://www.denver7.com/news/front-range/broomfield/in-a-first-plane-makes-emergency-landing-at-rmma-using-automated-technology-due-to-pilot-incapacitation", "date": "2025-12-22", "written_by": "independent", "quote": "no one on the plane was treated on scene or taken to a hospital" }, { "kind": "news report", "citation": "Matt Ryan / AVweb (2025). Garmin Autoland Safely Lands King Air After Pilot Incapacitation. AVweb, 22 December 2025.", "title": "Garmin Autoland Safely Lands King Air After Pilot Incapacitation", "url": "https://avweb.com/aviation-news/garmin-autoland-safely-lands-king-air/", "date": "2025-12-22", "written_by": "independent", "quote": "transmitting automated broadcasts indicating a pilot incapacitation and intent to conduct an emergency autoland" }, { "kind": "news report", "citation": "Rachel Dobkin / The Independent (2025). Airplane automatically lands itself after an inflight emergency. The Independent, syndicated on Yahoo News, 24 December 2025.", "title": "Airplane automatically lands itself after an inflight emergency", "url": "https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/airplane-automatically-lands-itself-inflight-044612392.html", "date": "2025-12-24", "written_by": "independent", "quote": "No patients were treated on scene or transported to local hospitals." } ] } }, "provenance": { "kind": "legacy_record", "basis": "Preserved from the existing AIBD record; external sources were not rechecked.", "record_fields": [ "evidence" ], "source_refs": [] }, "review_state": "record_mapped", "coverage": "partial" }, "sources[].upstream_sources": { "state": "not_assessed", "review_state": "not_assessed", "coverage": "partial" }, "strategic_assessments[]": { "state": "not_assessed", "review_state": "not_assessed", "coverage": "partial", "family": "strategic assessments" }, "summary": { "state": "value_present", "value": { "kind": "record_fields", "fields": { "summary": "On 20 December 2025 Garmin Autoland flew a depressurised King Air B200 to a landing at Rocky Mountain Metropolitan Airport; two pilots unhurt.", "account": "On Saturday 20 December 2025 Buffalo River Aviation's Beechcraft Super King Air B200, N479BR, left Aspen-Pitkin County Airport at 1:43 p.m. It carried two pilots and no passengers. At about 23,000 ft it suffered a rapid, uncommanded loss of pressurization. When cabin altitude passed the safe limit, Garmin Autoland engaged automatically. It sent automated emergency broadcasts to air traffic control. It flew the aircraft to a landing on Runway 30 at Rocky Mountain Metropolitan Airport, Broomfield, Colorado, shortly after 2 p.m. The crew chose to leave it engaged. Nobody was treated. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said it was investigating and the NTSB that it was gathering information. Garmin called it the first use of Autoland from start to finish in an actual emergency." } }, "provenance": { "kind": "legacy_record", "basis": "Preserved from the existing AIBD record; external sources were not rechecked.", "record_fields": [ "summary", "account" ], "source_refs": [] }, "review_state": "record_mapped", "coverage": "partial" }, "systems[].autonomy_permissions": { "state": "not_assessed", "review_state": "not_assessed", "coverage": "partial" }, "systems[].component_role": { "state": "not_assessed", "review_state": "not_assessed", "coverage": "partial" }, "systems[].deployment_configuration": { "state": "not_assessed", "review_state": "not_assessed", "coverage": "partial" }, "systems[].inputs_outputs": { "state": "not_assessed", "review_state": "not_assessed", "coverage": "partial" }, "systems[].model_name": { "state": "not_assessed", "review_state": "not_assessed", "coverage": "partial" }, "systems[].model_version": { "state": "not_assessed", "review_state": "not_assessed", "coverage": "partial" }, "systems[].product_name": { "state": "value_present", "value": { "kind": "record_fields", "fields": { "system": "Garmin Autoland (Emergency Autoland)" } }, "provenance": { "kind": "legacy_record", "basis": "Preserved from the existing AIBD record; external sources were not rechecked.", "record_fields": [ "system" ], "source_refs": [] }, "review_state": "record_mapped", "coverage": "partial" }, "systems[].provider": { "state": "value_present", "value": { "kind": "structured", "data": { "application_developer": "Garmin" } }, "provenance": { "kind": "legacy_record", "basis": "Mapped from the existing case description without a new external source review.", "record_fields": [ "developer" ], "source_refs": [] }, "review_state": "record_mapped", "coverage": "partial" }, "taxonomy_crosswalks[]": { "state": "not_assessed", "review_state": "not_assessed", "coverage": "partial" }, "title": { "state": "value_present", "value": { "kind": "record_fields", "fields": { "title": "Garmin Autoland engages after a King Air B200 loses cabin pressure at 23,000 ft and lands it at Broomfield, Colorado, in its first real emergency use", "headline": "Garmin Autoland lands depressurised King Air B200; pilots unhurt" } }, "provenance": { "kind": "legacy_record", "basis": "Preserved from the existing AIBD record; external sources were not rechecked.", "record_fields": [ "title", "headline" ], "source_refs": [] }, "review_state": "record_mapped", "coverage": "partial" }, "version": { "state": "value_present", "value": { "kind": "identifiers", "identifiers": [ "e067d3612528a25b90b00340bad1e609571c414ab9142cd0bea9cf9db371b9b5" ], "role": "SHA-256 of normalized original case data" }, "provenance": { "kind": "curatorial", "basis": "Deterministic content version assigned by the local migration.", "record_fields": [], "source_refs": [] }, "review_state": "record_mapped", "coverage": "complete" }, "workflow": { "state": "value_present", "value": { "kind": "record_fields", "fields": { "account": "On Saturday 20 December 2025 Buffalo River Aviation's Beechcraft Super King Air B200, N479BR, left Aspen-Pitkin County Airport at 1:43 p.m. It carried two pilots and no passengers. At about 23,000 ft it suffered a rapid, uncommanded loss of pressurization. When cabin altitude passed the safe limit, Garmin Autoland engaged automatically. It sent automated emergency broadcasts to air traffic control. It flew the aircraft to a landing on Runway 30 at Rocky Mountain Metropolitan Airport, Broomfield, Colorado, shortly after 2 p.m. The crew chose to leave it engaged. Nobody was treated. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said it was investigating and the NTSB that it was gathering information. Garmin called it the first use of Autoland from start to finish in an actual emergency.", "replication": { "produced_by": [ "An aircraft fitted with Garmin Autoland. Garmin says more than 1,700 are equipped.", "A rapid, uncommanded loss of pressurization that pushed cabin altitude past the system's automatic trigger.", "A crew that decided to let the automatic sequence run to touchdown rather than take over." ], "must_hold": [ "The aircraft remains airworthy. Autoland is a fail-safe for a working aircraft whose pilot cannot fly it, in the words of the journalist CBS quoted.", "A suitable airport is in range. The Register describes selection by runway length, distance and fuel range.", "Controllers and ground services act on the automated broadcasts, as Broomfield's two fire departments did." ], "echoes": [] } } }, "provenance": { "kind": "legacy_record", "basis": "Preserved from the existing AIBD record; external sources were not rechecked.", "record_fields": [ "account", "replication" ], "source_refs": [] }, "review_state": "record_mapped", "coverage": "partial" } }, "summary": { "total": 91, "addressed": 91, "known": 29, "reviewed": 0, "record_mapped": 29, "not_assessed": 62, "complete": false, "by_state": { "value_present": 29, "not_reported": 0, "unresolved": 0, "not_assessed": 62, "not_applicable": 0, "withheld": 0, "source_unavailable": 0 } } } }