Garmin Autoland Makes Aviation History as King Air Lands Itself in Colorado After Pressurization Emergency
BROOMFIELD, Colo. (Dec. 25, 2025) — A twin‑engine Beechcraft Super King Air 200 touched down at Rocky Mountain Metropolitan Airport (KBJC) near Denver with a twist that’s rippling across aviation: the airplane effectively landed itself using Garmin’s Emergency Autoland technology, in what Garmin and multiple aviation outlets describe as the first confirmed real‑world start‑to‑finish activation of the system during an actual emergency. ABC News While early air‑traffic audio and automated radio calls referenced “pilot incapacitation,” the aircraft’s operator later clarified that both pilots remained conscious and deliberately chose to let the automation complete the landing after an abrupt pressurization problem—an