Garmin’s Autoland emergency-landing system is now installed on more than 2,500 aircraft, spanning over 15 certified models from piston aircraft and turboprops to single- and twin-engine jets. The milestone comes just over six years after the system was first certified on the Piper M600 SLS, with recent approvals extending availability to the HondaJet Elite II, Embraer Phenom 300EV, Pilatus PC-12 PRO and Epic E1000 AX.
The HondaJet Elite II and Phenom 300EV are the first twin-engine jets approved for Garmin Autoland. Nearly 250 of the aircraft in service received the system as a retrofit after delivery, including eligible aircraft originally delivered without the feature and full retrofit programmes for Beechcraft King Air aircraft.
Designed for emergencies such as pilot incapacitation, Autoland can be activated by a passenger using a dedicated button or engage automatically when the system detects a lack of pilot interaction. It selects a suitable airport, plans a route around terrain and adverse weather, communicates with air traffic control, flies a stabilised approach and lands without further input from occupants.
Garmin expects additional certifications in 2027 for the Textron Aviation Cessna Citation M2 Gen3, Citation CJ3 Gen3, Citation CJ4 Gen3 and Beechcraft Denali. The 2,500-aircraft total includes no published breakdown by model or region.