Latest approval extends Garmin’s safety technology to popular turboprop fleet, offering automated landing capability in pilot incapacitation scenarios and advanced power management features
The US Federal Aviation Administration has certificated Garmin’s autoland and autothrottle system for installation on avionics-upgraded Beechcraft King Air 350s.
It has also approved Garmin’s autothrottle system for King Air 300s.
Garmin revealed the certifications on 27 August, noting they apply to the roughly 1,000 King Airs equipped with the avionics provider’s G1000 NXi cockpit package.
The approvals mark another win for Garmin, which has in recent years succeeded in achieving approvals for the systems in a now-wide-range of small aircraft.
“The full autothrottle integration with the G1000 NXi integrated flight deck reduces crew workload in the cockpit by managing aircraft speed and power, and provides engine protection against potential exceedance,” Garmin says. “In the event of an emergency where the crew can no longer perform their duties, Garmin auto-land can control and land the aircraft without human intervention.”
The autothrottle “keeps power levers in the proper power setting, negating the threat of a possible rollback”, and reduces engine power in case of overheating or excessive torque, Garmin adds. Operators can set custom power settings for climb, cruise and descent.
Garmin’s autoland system made waves in recent years. It can fully control and land an aircraft in the event that a pilot becomes incapacitated. Activated by a button in the cockpit, the technology identifies a suitable airport, “initiates an approach to the runway and automatically lands”, Garmin has said.
Aircraft including King Air 200s, Piper M600s, Cessna Citations, Cirrus Vision Jets, Daher TBMs and Honda Aircraft HA-420 HondaJets have been approved to have the Garmin autoland system. The product is also fitted on Beechcraft’s single-turboprop Denali, which that manufacturer aims to have certificated in 2026.
