Watch this crazy video of an unconscious pilot saved by his plane’s computer
SUMMARY
If you've ever been driving on a long road trip, you might know the horrifying feeling of being drowsy and nodding off behind the wheel — even for a moment.
Your heart drops into your stomach when you realize what happened. Now imagine waking up in an F-16 flying straight to the ground while approaching supersonic speed.
A trainee pilot conducting basic fighter maneuver training with the Arizona Air National Guard suffered G-LOC, or gravity-induced loss of consciousness, while in a roll. The student hit 8.3 Gs and passed out.
Related: Watch as flight students gut out high G training
The Air Force released this newly declassified video from the aircraft's heads-up display on September 13th, which shows the plane's Automatic Ground Collision Avoidance System kick on to save the pilot, who was still unconscious after 22 seconds.
According to Aviation Week's Guy Norris, this is the fourth save from the Auto-GCAS since it was introduced to the Air Force in 2014. The computer uses pre-programmed terrain info against a prediction of the plane's trajectory. The GCAS autopilot takes over when the prediction touches the ground.
In this case, the GCAS took over at just 8,760 feet. The student then wakes back up and retakes control at 4,370 feet.
SHARE