Two fighter pilots passed out over Nevada last year. Software saved them both.
In separate incidents, F-16 aviators were rendered unconscious, but a ground-collision avoidance system righted the aircrafts.
On January 23 of last year, a pilot flying a single-seat F-16 over Nevada lost consciousness. Around 6 months later, on July 16, another pilot operating the same type of fighter jet, also in Nevada, passed out as well. Both of them would have almost certainly been killed were it not for built-in software that took over the controls before they crashed.
Both pilots experienced an aviation phenomenon called G-LOC, which stands for G-induced loss of consciousness, and both were operating in the Nevada Test and Training Range. And in each case, the onboard software system saved the aviators’ lives, according to the Air Force.
The software that saved them is known as Automatic Ground Collision Avoidance System, or AGCAS, and in the January instance, it engaged when the jet was about 2,600 feet above ground level. In the July incident, the software activated at about 4,000 above the deck.
The Air Force Safety Center explained via email to Popular Science that in both cases, “AGCAS is credited with saving the pilots’ lives.”
The Safety Center added: “In both incidents, the pilots were able to regain consciousness during the AGCAS pull-up and they assisted in the recovery of the aircraft; however, their actions alone would not have been in time to prevent collision with the ground.”
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