WO2021083777A1

WO2021083777A1 - Device and method for facilitating an emergency water landing

Info

Publication number: WO2021083777A1
Application number: PCT/EP2020/079704
Authority: WO
Inventors: Jérôme ALLARD
Original assignee: Allard Jerome
Priority date: 2019-10-31
Filing date: 2020-10-22
Publication date: 2021-05-06
Also published as: FR3102881A1; FR3102881B1

Abstract

The invention relates to a method for assisting the water landing of a distressed airplane (1), said method making it possible to propose a route (3, 6) for landing on water as close as possible to a vessel (2) under the best possible conditions.

Description

0 DEVICE AND PROCEDURE FOR FACILITATING DITCHING

EMERGENCY.

The present invention relates to the field of aeronautical flight safety. More particularly, the present invention relates to an emergency landing aid device.

A water landing can be the consequence of various causes, for example ingestion of birds, a fuel leak, volcanic ash, a simultaneous shutdown of both engines or an uncontrolled fire. Landing is considered when there is no land or an airport immediately accessible or close enough.

During their training, pilots never perform or practice such a maneuver; it is only conceptualized. Pilots have a holistic view5 of the landing, including the trajectory, speed and weather environment that will in part determine its feasibility and success.

Such a water landing only makes sense if the passengers have been rescued. Such a success and such a rescue are all the more uncertain in an oceanic environment and at night. The aim of the invention is to provide pilots with means of assisting with landing, to increase the chances of succeeding in this maneuver and to allow more effective assistance to passengers in an oceanic environment.

To solve this problem, the invention proposes a method for helping a pilot of an airplane to land on water, comprising a step for automatically collecting information relating to ships present in the vicinity of an instantaneous position of the airplane, a step to automatically collect meteorological, atmospheric and maritime information near the 0 ships, and a step to automatically select one or more ships among those resulting from the step of collecting information on the ships present, and, an automated step for calculate and propose at least one route to at least one of the selected vessels. Such a method may comprise an intermediate step for combining the information collected with the steps of collecting information and selecting vessels, in a manner accessible to the pilot, in particular in the form of an image, and a step for authorizing a choice. of the pilot, from among the proposed selection of vessels, then, automatically calculate the at least one route. 0

The information relating to the vessels preferably includes their position, direction of movement and type, and, preferably, their speed.

The meteorological information preferably comprises a wind force and direction, and, a wave force and direction and / or a wave force and direction, in the vicinity of the ships.

The at least one proposed route preferably comprises a portion which runs alongside or overflies a ship near which this route provides for landing. This route0 may also include a landing direction determined automatically as a function of the meteorological conditions; preferably, this direction is towards the wind when the wind has a speed higher than a given limit and parallel to the swell, when the wind has a speed lower than this limit.

The method advantageously comprises a step for creating a Virtual ILS, to ensure the guidance of the aircraft.

The method preferably comprises at least one step in which the pilot is called upon, in particular a step for choosing a route from among those proposed and / or a step for choosing or rejecting the proposed vessels.

The method can also include a step for performing an automatic ditching, preferably in the event of non-response from the crew to a solicitation step and / or in the event of prolonged inaction on the flight controls, and / or in the event of immobility observed in the cockpit of the aircraft.

The invention also relates to a system comprising means for implementing the method according to the invention. 0 The invention also relates to an application which can be downloaded to a mobile electronic device, preferably to an electronic tablet, in order to implement therein a method according to the invention.

Several embodiments of the invention will be described below, by way of non-limiting examples, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

[Fig. 1] is a view of the information given, for the North Atlantic, by a ship-to-sea tracking application;

[Fig. 2] is a schematic view illustrating information provided to an airplane pilot, by a system according to the invention; and,

[Fig. 3] is a flowchart illustrating the operation of this system; When an aircraft other than a seaplane is in distress, a water landing is arguably one of the riskiest maneuvers a pilot can perform. To increase the chances of survival of passengers, it is preferable to be able to

5 land near a vessel likely to pick up any survivors.

The pilot must therefore be able to have reliable information on the position of the nearest ships at his disposal, even in the event of low or no visibility. 0 However, maritime regulations require that this information be shared in order in particular to avoid collisions between ships. This information is accessible; they can be viewed in particular by computer means, for example using applications such as "Vessel Finder", "Ship Finder" or "Marine Traffic". 5

Thus, FIG. 1 represents a view provided by the “Vessel Finder” application. It shows in particular the information relating to the liner "Queen Elizabeth", heading due east, south of Greenland. 0 Other information is needed by pilots, such as weather, including wind direction and strength, swell direction and strength, and wave height. This information is also available from shared sources. 5 When he has to manage a water landing; without a ship nearby, especially at night, the workload as well as the little time available, a notion known as “time critical” in English, does not guarantee the success of this maneuver, nor the survival of passengers. The invention therefore consists in providing reliable information which enables the pilot to choose, if this choice exists, a ship and a landing route associated with this ship, the most suitable for the survival of the passengers of the airplane.

We will now describe a method of assisting with landing according to the invention. Such a method provides information in particular given in graphic form. This process can be implemented by a resident computer program installed in the aircraft and the information can be displayed on a screen in the cockpit, integrated into the instrument panel. The method can also be implemented by an application-type program, downloadable to a mobile device, for example an electronic tablet of the pilot, the information being displayed on the screen of this mobile device.

Figure 2 is an image of a possible display of information provided by a method according to the invention.

The image in Figure 2 shows aircraft 1 in distress, in an instantaneous position. It also shows a ship 2 and a route 3 chosen using the method according to the invention. Route 3 is chosen in an optimized way, to bring aircraft 1 to landing point 4, close to ship 2.

Optimal route 3 is chosen to include a portion 3A in which the airplane runs alongside the ship, from back to front, so as to signal itself, by sound or sight or a radar echo. 5

The aircraft can also signal itself by means of information emanating from an on-board shared alert system; in fact, ships generally have an instantaneous location system which incorporates an alert function making it possible, among other things, to alert surrounding ships that there is a ship in distress, this system can then be advantageously used by the vessel. plane in distress to report. The ADS system "Automatic depend surveillance-broadcast, in English", is an automatic surveillance system used for air traffic control; installed on board airplanes, it can also be used to issue an alert, through a

5 pilot action or automatically in the event of a change of trajectory. Thus, if a crew deviates, and sends an alert message via ADS, the controller can inform the coast guard; They can then warn ships, even before the plane arrives nearby. 0 Landing point 4 is chosen to be at a distance D4 such that once the aircraft has been identified by the ship, the ship can stop, on its track, near landing point 4.

The image also shows a more direct and faster alternative route 6, which can be chosen, if the pilot considers that the landing is too urgent for the optimal route 3 to be taken.

Among the data provided in the image, there is also the direction and the speed V of the wind 7 and the direction and the force H of the swell 8 in the vicinity of the point 0 of landing 4. Indeed, the conditions of swell and of wind can condition the optimal direction F4 of the airplane at the time of the landing. For example, for some airlines, if the wind speed V is greater than 35 knots (kt), the landing must face into the wind, and, if the wind speed is less than 35 knots, the water landing must be done parallel to the swell 8. In the example illustrated, the method has chosen a landing direction F4 parallel to the swell 8.

When the pilot has made the choice of the landing route, for example the optimal route 3, the method creates a virtual ILS (“Instrument Landing System”) which allows an instrument landing. Preferably, the method allows control of the automatic pilot, so that in the event of pilot failure, and with the help of this virtual ILS, the airplane is able to reach landing point 4 on its own and automatically by following the chosen route 3.

We will now describe different steps of a process 100 according to the invention,

5 implemented by a computer system available to the crew, in particular the pilot (s), with reference to Figure 3.

A first step 101 consists in initializing the method 100. A method according to the invention is initialized when the crew anticipates or identifies an emergency requiring an emergency water landing. The system immediately and substantially simultaneously initiates a second step 102 to collect data relating to ships close to the instantaneous position of the aircraft 1 and a third step 103 to collect weather information in the vicinity of these ships. 5

Simultaneously a fourth step 104, of descent, is engaged up to an altitude of 10,000 feet, either automatically by the system if it is designed to take control, or by the pilot if he can control the trajectory manually or with the help of the autopilot. 0

A fifth step 105 makes it possible to choose a ship from among those identified in step 102, the ships whose type is best suited to the rescue of the aircraft and its passengers. The selection criteria are preferably:

- the size of the ship, the larger ones being better equipped with rescue equipment5 and certainly able to accommodate more people; and,

- its kind, cargo ships and passenger transport being favored over fishing boats.

A combination of the information relating to the weather and to the selected vessels is proposed during a sixth step 106. During the seventh step 107 the crew can validate the selection of vessels proposed in the previous step.

If this selection is validated, during an eighth step 108, the system proposes

5 one or more routes 3,6 each of which leads to one of the vessels selected in the fifth step 105.

In a ninth stage 109, the crew may or may not decide to choose one of the proposed routes. 0

If one of the routes 3, 6, therefore a ship, is chosen by the pilot in the ninth step, the system goes to a tenth step 110. During this step 110, the system creates a virtual ILS, so as to guide the pilot up to the landing 111 proper, preferably up to a landing point 4 provided at the end of the chosen route.

If, in the seventh step 107, the pilot judges that the first proposed ships are not suitable for the situation, in a twelfth step 112, the system proposes second ships previously discarded in the fifth step 105. These ships can be ships. pleasure craft or fishing boats. During a thirteenth step 113 new routes are proposed to one or more of these second ships. A route having been chosen among these second, the system goes to the tenth step 110, and creates a virtual ILS, so as to guide the pilot to the landing 111 proper, preferably5 to a landing point. 4 planned near the second chosen boat.

At each decision of the pilot, in particular in the seventh and ninth steps 107,109, the system can take control and initiate a fourteenth step 114 of automatic piloting. 0 At any time, the process can be interrupted by the pilot, if he considers that the situation has once again become sufficiently controllable to reach an airport.

Of course, the invention is not limited to the examples which have just been described. On the contrary, the invention is defined by the following claims.

It will indeed appear to those skilled in the art that various modifications can be made to the embodiments described above, in the light of the teaching which has just been disclosed to him.

Thus, the acquisition steps 102 and 103 can be continuous steps as soon as the aircraft is in flight, so that the most up-to-date information is already acquired when the distress situation arises. Likewise, routes can be calculated regularly based on the instantaneous position of the aircraft and up-to-date information on the presence of the ships, so that the eighth step 108 and the thirteenth step 113 are anticipated.

Claims

1. Method (100) for helping a crew of an airplane (1) to land on land, characterized in that it comprises: - a step (102) for automatically collecting information relating to ships (2) present in the vicinity of an instantaneous position of the airplane;

- a step (103) for automatically collecting meteorological, atmospheric and maritime information in the vicinity of said ships;

- a step (105) for automatically selecting one or more vessels from among those resulting from step (102) for collecting information on the vessels present; and,

- an automated step for calculating and proposing at least one route (3,6) to at least one of said selected ships (2).

2. Method according to claim 1, characterized that it comprises an intermediate step (106) for combining the information collected at the information collection steps (102,103) and the selection of vessels (105), in a manner accessible to the pilot, in particular in the form of an image (10), and, a step for authorizing a choice of said pilot, among the selection of ships proposed, then, of automatically calculating (106) the at least one route.

3. Method according to one of claims 1 and 2, characterized in that the information relating to said vessels includes their position, their direction, and, preferably, their speed of movement and / or their type.

4. Method according to one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the meteorological information comprises a force and a wind direction, and a force and a direction of the waves and of the swell, in the vicinity of said ships.

5. Method according to one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the route (3) comprises a portion (3A) which runs alongside a ship near which said route provides for ditching.

6. Method according to one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that said route comprises a landing direction (F4) determined as a function of the meteorological conditions, preferably in that said direction (F4) is facing the wind when said wind has a speed greater than a given limit and parallel to the swell, when said wind has a speed less than said limit.

7. Method according to one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that it comprises a step (110) for creating a Virtual ILS, for guiding the pilot.

8. Method according to one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that it comprises at least one step (107, 109) in which the pilot is requested, in particular a step (109) for choosing a route among those proposed and / or a step (107) for choosing or rejecting proposed vessels.

9. The method of claim 8, characterized in that it comprises a step (114) for performing an automatic water landing, preferably in the event of no response from the crew to a solicitation step (107, 109) and / or in the event of prolonged inaction on the flight controls and / or in the event of immobility in the aircraft cockpit.

10. System comprising means for implementing the method according to one of the preceding claims.

11. Application downloadable on a mobile electronic device, preferably on an electronic tablet, to implement therein a method according to one of claims 1 to 9.