23 December 2025
The first apparent real world case of Garmin’s Autoland emergency landing system happened last Saturday… and it was a complete success.
A Beechcraft Super King Air 200 being flown by two pilots “experienced a rapid, uncommanded loss of pressurization” according to Buffalo River Aviation, which is linked with Buffalo River Outfitters, an adventure experiences company. No passengers were on board.
“The two pilots immediately put on their oxygen masks and the Autoland system automatically engaged exactly as designed when the cabin altitude exceeded the prescribed safe levels,” the company said, according to Aviation Safety Network.
“The pilots decided to leave the system engaged due to the ‘complexity’ of the situation, according to Buffalo River Aviation.
“While the system performed exactly as expected, the pilots were prepared to resume manual control of the aircraft should the system have malfunctioned in any way.”
The King Air had departed from Aspen-Pitkin County Airport in Colorado and was heading to Broomfield-Rocky Mountain Metropolitan Airport, also in Colorado.
A recording from the airport’s tower frequency clearly captures the Autoland’s radio messages and can be heard on this VAS Aviation video (below), together with an animation. The aircraft reg is N479BR.
How do airports know how to react when facing such a situation. The UK CAA has issued Safety Notice “to inform airspace users and ATS staff of the existence of Garmin Emergency Autoland, outline its method of operation, and highlight considerations that should be made in the event of activation”. Click here to download it.
