A Beechcraft King Air B200 equipped with Garmin Autoland last week executed its first real-world emergency landing, according to the company.
The twin turboprop, tail number N479BR, had no passengers on board and was making a repositioning flight, its operator told FlightRadar24. According to CBS Colorado, the pilot reported a cabin pressurization issue to air traffic control (ATC) shortly after taking off from Aspen-Pitkin County Airport (KASE) in Colorado around 1:43 p.m. local time on December 20. Buffalo River Aviation CEO Chris Townsend told CBS that the Autoland system activated on its own after the aircraft’s cabin altitude exceeded safe levels.
The FAA in a statement said the King Air and its two occupants landed safely at Rocky Mountain Metropolitan Airport (KBJC) at around 2:20 p.m. local time, adding that it is investigating the incident. Buffalo River Aviation said the aircraft returned to service the following day.
“It’s unclear at this time why the plane’s emergency system was activated,” Colorado’s North Metro Fire Rescue District said in a post on X, with an accompanying video depicting the King Air stopped on the runway. “No patients were treated on scene or transported to local hospitals.”
CBS News reported in September, citing a June FAA memo, that Rocky Mountain Metropolitan has more potentially significant events (PSEs)—including runway incursions and airborne safety incidents—than any airport in the U.S.
“Rocky Mountain Regional Airport might be small, but its location, mix of aircraft and complex configuration makes it a challenging one,” the agency responded in a social media post.
Autoland’s First Real-World Test
Garmin introduced its Autoland system in 2019. In September, the company said the Collier Trophy-winning technology is installed on more than 1,000 aircraft equipped with its Integrated Flight Deck, including the Cirrus SF50 Vision Jet and SR Series, Daher TBM 940, and Piper M600/SLS.
Autoland was first installed on a B200—one of the oldest continuously produced families of aircraft—in January 2024. In August, the FAA certified both Garmin’s autoland and autothrottle systems for installation on G1000 NXi-equipped King Air 350s.
Autoland can be activated by any occupant with the push of a button—or, it can take over automatically if it detects prolonged pilot inactivity. The system takes full control of the aircraft, selects a suitable airfield for landing based on factors such as weather, runway length, and remaining fuel, and transmits automated messages to ATC. After executing an automated landing, it stops the aircraft and shuts down the engines.
Townsend said the King Air’s cabin pressurization issue occurred at about 23,000 feet msl, and pilots immediately donned oxygen masks. Audio on the ATC frequency for KBJC’s control tower captured the moment Autoland sent the following automated message:
“November Four Seven Niner Bravo Romeo, pilot incapacitation, two miles south of Kilo Bravo Juliet Charlie. Emergency Autoland in nineteen minutes on Runway Three Zero Right at Kilo Bravo Juliet Charlie.”
Though initial reports took that to mean the pilot was incapacitated, Buffalo River Aviation later clarified that the crew was conscious and allowed the system to take over after activation. It provided routine updates on its location and estimated time of arrival on approach to KBJC.
“Due to the complexity of the specific situation, including instrument meteorological conditions, mountainous terrain, active icing conditions, unknown reasons for loss of pressure, and the binary (all-or-nothing) function of the Garmin emergency systems; the pilots, exercising conservative judgement under their emergency command authority made the decision to leave the system engaged while monitoring its performance and attempting communications as able within the constraints of the system,” the operator told FlightRadar24.
“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.”
Garmin did not immediately respond to FLYING’s request for further information about the incident.
