Garmin Autoland Now Fitted to More Than 2,500 Aircraft, With First Twin-Engine Jet Certifications in 2026

Garmin announced on Oct. 14, 2026, that more than 2,500 aircraft are now equipped with Garmin Autoland, just over six years after the technology's initial certification. Autoland is available on more than 15 aircraft models, from piston-powered aircraft to twin-engine jets. It is described as the world's first certified autonomous system that activates in an emergency to control and land an aircraft without human intervention, and it has received the Robert J. Collier Trophy.

Autoland was first certified in May 2020 on the Piper M600 SLS. In 2026 alone it gained certification on four more models: the HondaJet Elite II, Embraer Phenom 300EV, Pilatus PC-12 PRO and Epic E1000 AX. The HondaJet Elite II and Phenom 300EV certifications are the first availability of Autoland on twin-engine jet aircraft. Availability has also expanded across Garmin integrated flight decks, including G1000 NXi, G3000 and G3000 PRIME.

Of the more than 2,500 aircraft flying with Autoland, nearly 250 were retrofitted after delivery. These include eligible platforms initially delivered without the technology enabled, as well as a full retrofit for King Air aircraft, some of which were produced more than 50 years ago.

In an emergency such as pilot incapacitation, a passenger can activate Autoland with a dedicated button, and the system can also activate automatically if it detects no pilot interaction. It then calculates a flight path to the most suitable airport, avoids terrain and adverse weather, flies a stabilized approach and lands the aircraft without pilot or passenger intervention. Phil Straub, Garmin Executive Vice President and Managing Director, Aviation, said that surpassing 2,500 Autoland-equipped aircraft reflects the adoption of a technology designed to give pilots and passengers added confidence.

The 2026 certifications move Autoland from single-engine turboprops and piston aircraft into twin-engine jets, the category where charter operators, fractional programs and owner-pilots weigh safety equipment against residual values. Once a system is certified across a flight-deck family such as G3000, extending it to additional airframes becomes largely a matter of integration and approval work for each model.

The retrofit figures matter as much as the factory-fit count. Nearly 250 of the 2,500-plus aircraft were upgraded after delivery, including King Airs built more than 50 years ago, which shows that emergency-landing capability can reach aircraft already in service rather than only new deliveries. For the used market, that makes the presence or absence of the system a potential differentiator between otherwise similar airframes.

The next milestones are further model certifications on Garmin flight decks, and how many of the existing fleet eligible for retrofit are actually upgraded.