Systems and methods for determining emergency escape paths for aircraft
A system (for determining one or more emergency escape paths for one or more emergencies that can occur during a flight of an aircraft) includes a control unit configured to automatically determine the one or more emergency escape paths for the one or more emergencies based on performance capabilities of the aircraft, terrain within at least a portion of an original flight path or the one or more emergency escape paths, and obstacles within at least a portion of the original flight path or the one or more emergency escape paths.
1 . A system comprising:
an aircraft configured to output an emergency signal indicative of an emergency that occurs during a flight; and
a control unit configured to:
receive the emergency signal from the aircraft, and
in response to receiving the emergency signal from the aircraft, automatically determine an emergency escape path for the emergency based on emergency data including information regarding the emergency, performance capabilities of the aircraft, terrain within at least a portion of an original flight path or the emergency escape path, and obstacles within at least a portion of the original flight path or the emergency escape path, wherein the automatically determine includes automatically matching the emergency with specific emergency information within the emergency data, and automatically matching the emergency escape path associated with the specific emergency information, wherein the control unit further automatically determines the emergency escape path to comply with specified minimum performance requirements, which define a lower limit for flight safety, wherein the specified minimum performance requirements include flight path clearance margins from terrain and obstructions during all flight phases, wherein the control unit further automatically determines the emergency escape path based on performance aspects of the aircraft, safety requirements, and operational capability for the flight,
wherein the aircraft is configured to be operated according to the emergency escape path.
2 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the control unit is configured to automatically determine the emergency escape path based further on one or more airports.
3 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the control unit is configured to automatically determine the emergency escape path based further on parameters of the flight of the aircraft, and one or more flights of one or more other aircraft.
4 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the control unit is configured to automatically determine the emergency escape path based further on weather.
5 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the emergency comprises an engine failure, or an unsafe decompression.
6 . The system of claim 1 , further comprising a user interface in communication with the control unit, wherein the user interface comprises a display, and wherein the control unit is configured to show the emergency escape path on the display.
7 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the control unit is further configured to automatically determine the emergency escape path before the aircraft is scheduled for the flight.
8 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the emergency is any type of emergency that can occur during the flight.
9 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the aircraft is automatically operated according to the emergency escape path.
10 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the control unit is an artificial intelligence or machine learning system.
11 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the performance capabilities include maximum airspeed, weight, and turning radii, wherein the terrain includes mountains, hills, rivers, and bodies of water, and wherein the obstacles include buildings, bridges, and roads.
12 . A method comprising:
outputting, by an aircraft, an emergency signal indicative of an emergency that occurs during a flight;
receiving, by a control unit, the emergency signal from the aircraft;
in response to said receiving the emergency signal from the aircraft, automatically determining, by the control unit, an emergency escape path for the emergency based on emergency data including information regarding the emergency, performance capabilities of the aircraft, terrain within at least a portion of an original flight path or the emergency escape path, and obstacles within at least a portion of the original flight path or the emergency escape path, wherein said automatically determining includes automatically matching the emergency with specific emergency information within the emergency data, and automatically matching the emergency escape path associated with the specific emergency information, wherein said automatically determining further comprises automatically determining the emergency escape path to comply with specified minimum performance requirements, which define a lower limit for flight safety, wherein the specified minimum performance requirements include flight path clearance margins from terrain and obstructions during all flight phases, and wherein said automatically determining further comprises automatically determining the emergency escape path based on performance aspects of the aircraft, safety requirements, and operational capability for the flight; and
operating the aircraft according to the emergency escape path.
13 . The method of claim 12 , wherein said automatically determining further comprises automatically determining the emergency escape path based further on one or more airports, parameters of the flight of the aircraft and one or more flights of one or more other aircraft, and weather.
14 . The method of claim 12 , further comprising showing the emergency escape path on a display of a user interface that is in communication with the control unit.
15 . The method of claim 12 , wherein said automatically determining also occurs before the aircraft is scheduled for the flight.
16 . The method of claim 12 , wherein the emergency is any type of emergency that can occur during the flight.
17 . The method of claim 12 , wherein said operating the aircraft comprises automatically operating the aircraft according to the one or more emergency escape paths.
18 . The method of claim 12 , wherein the control unit is an artificial intelligence or machine learning system.
19 . A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium comprising executable instructions that, in response to execution, cause one or more control units comprising a processor, to perform operations comprising:
receiving an emergency signal indicative of an emergency that occurs during a flight of an aircraft;
in response to said receiving the emergency signal, automatically determining one or more emergency escape paths for one or more emergencies based on emergency data including information regarding the emergency, performance capabilities of an aircraft, terrain within at least a portion of an original flight path or the one or more emergency escape paths, and obstacles within at least a portion of the original flight path or the one or more emergency escape paths, wherein said automatically determining includes automatically matching the emergency with specific emergency information within the emergency data, and automatically matching the emergency escape path associated with the specific emergency information, wherein said automatically determining further comprises automatically determining the emergency escape path to comply with specified minimum performance requirements, which define a lower limit for flight safety, wherein the specified minimum performance requirements include flight path clearance margins from terrain and obstructions during all flight phases, and wherein said automatically determining further comprises automatically determining the emergency escape path based on performance aspects of the aircraft, safety requirements, and operational capability for the flight; and
operating the aircraft according to the emergency escape path.
20 . The method of claim 12 , wherein the performance capabilities include maximum airspeed, weight, and turning radii, wherein the terrain includes mountains, hills, rivers, and bodies of water, and wherein the obstacles include buildings, bridges, and roads.