A plane’s autonomous landing system took over and landed the aircraft after the pilot lost all communication with air traffic control at Rocky Mountain Metropolitan Airport in Broomfield on Saturday.
The plane successfully landed while being piloted by Autoland, an autonomous emergency landing system made by Garmin International, according to a statement from Mikayla Rudolph, a senior public relations specialist for the technology company known for its GPS tech.
The pilot lost communication with air traffic control before the Autoland system was activated, according to a Federal Aviation Administration statement sent by spokesperson Crystal Essiaw.
North Metro Fire Rescue responded to the scene, and some of its crewmembers watched the plane land safely, according to a . Two people are seen walking out of the plane in a video the fire department posted. The two people were not treated for injuries or taken to the hospital, according to North Metro.
The FAA confirmed in a statement that those two were the only people onboard the plane, a Beechcraft Super King Air, which landed at about 2:20 p.m.
The FAA is investigating, according to the statement.
Only one Beechcraft Super King Air landed at Rocky Mountain Metropolitan Airport around 2:20 p.m., according to flight logs on FlightAware, an online flight tracking service.
That flight was operating as Buffalo River Aircraft Services 9 and took off from Aspen-Pitken County Airport at 1:43 p.m. Saturday, according to FlightAware. The plane is owned by Gunner Aviation LLC with the tail number N479BR.
Rudolph noted that this is the first time the Autoland system has landed a plane, and said in the statement that it will release more information at the “appropriate time.”
Rocky Mountain Metropolitan Airport is aware of the autonomous landing, according to Sydny Boyd, a spokesperson for the airport. Boyd declined to comment further.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
