NASA Works on Flight Controls

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. (AP) - Researchers are working on flight controls that could take much of the guesswork out of controlling a damaged plane.

``That's precisely the type of thing it was designed to help you recover from,' said John Carter, project manager of the intelligent flight control systems project.

The software would instantly detect any damage and compensate for damaged or missing parts of a plane. Current standard controls are designed only to act if a plane is intact.

``We wanted to see if we could use a logic more like an injured bird would use, and if we could automate it,' Chuck Jorgensen, who heads the NASA teams that developed the software.

The controls have been flight-tested but are not yet ready for general use by the military or on commercial flights. NASA researchers hope it will be ready in five or six years.

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