Cirrus’ “Safe Return” Button Now On More Airplanes

DULUTH, Minn. – Cirrus Aircraft has announced their auto-land function is now coming to some of their propeller airplanes.

The “safe return” button on the plane allows passengers to hit an emergency button if the pilot become incapacitated.  The aircraft will then the navigate to a suitable nearby airport and land autonomously.  It’s the first time the FAA has allowed this technology on a single-engine piston powered airplanes.  Those airplanes tend to be flown by younger or newer pilots.

Ivy McIver, Executive Director of Cirrus’ SR Product Line told FOX21, “When you’re looking at an aircraft of this class, your looking at student pilots, very new pilots, and so your introducing this technology that which is essentially with the touch of a button – autonomously guide the vehicle to a safe cruise, approach, landing, and full stop engine shutdown.”

Getting this technology into the piston driven propeller airplanes was more difficult than jet airplanes because computers are doing less of the work in these planes.

McIver continued,  “A lot of software integration but also hardware and servo integration so now your starting to take kind of a complex problem of having software talk to mechanical bits and pieces, talking to servos and actually machinal linkages moving hardware.”

Last year cirrus delivered more than 700 aircraft that were made in Duluth.