Just to add some fuel to the discussion; some interesting quotes from NASA's initiative on Integrated Resilient Aircraft Control (IRAC) -“Stability, Maneuverability, and Safe Landing in the Presence of Adverse Conditions”
2009 Paper:
http://www.aeronautics.nasa.gov/nra_...ch_plan_c1.pdf
Slide:
http://www.eng.morgan.edu/~cibac/eve...%20(Totah).pdf
The application focus of this technology is for current and next generation subsonic civil transports. However, a majority of the challenges addressed by the IRAC project are general in nature, and therefore, the solutions will apply to a large class of aviation vehicles.
Simulation and/or flight validation of controller performance during an adverse event poses several challenges. Current state-of-the-art in aircraft modeling cannot accurately predict aerodynamic and/or flight dynamic characteristics under departed and loss-of-control conditions.
cmt: On that basis, simple extrapolations in FFS may have to remain the norm for a while longer
Problem Statement:
Previous research has shown that even though pilots may be able to regain "control" of a damaged or degraded aircraft, they may still not be able to achieve a safe runway landing. Oftentimes the vehicle's responsiveness under damaged or degraded conditions may become too slow for the pilot to achieve runway alignment without the assistance of automation. However conventional autopilots and flight directors are not designed to handle off-nominal conditions. Furthermore, Flight Management Systems have only been pre-programmed for a small number of "reasonably probable" [FAA FAR term] emergencies such as having an
"engine out." The goal of "Integrated adaptive mission management tools for safe flight" is to provide a suite of tools to assist the pilot in achieving a safe landing under adverse conditions.