Unmanned aerial vehicle and method for safely landing an unmanned aerial vehicle

A method for safely landing an unmanned aerial vehicle, comprising:

• determining that all communication links of a multiplicity of communication links between the aerial vehicle and a ground control station, configured for controlling and/or monitoring the aerial vehicle, are interrupted;
• in response to determining that all communication links of the multiplicity of communication links are interrupted, selecting a suitable landing site based on stored data and in accordance with defined rules for landing site selection, wherein the stored data includes current flight conditions data and nearby landing sites data, and wherein the stored data and the defined rules for landing site selection are mirrored on the ground control station;
• determining a flight route to the selected landing site, wherein determination of the flight route is carried out according to defined rules for flight route determination, and wherein the defined rules for flight route determination are mirrored on the ground control station with the stored data and the defined rules for landing site selection and the ground control station is configured determine the same flight route and the same selected landing site as determined by the unmanned aerial vehicle in response to determining an interruption on all communication links of the multiplicity of communication links;
• and
• landing the aerial vehicle at the selected landing site.

A ground control station for controlling and/or monitoring at least one unmanned aerial vehicle, comprising:

• a communication system, configured for communicating with the unmanned aerial vehicle and for communicating with an air traffic control system, having a multiplicity of communication links;
• and
• a monitoring device, configured for monitoring the multiplicity of communication links of the ground control station with the aerial vehicle and the air traffic control system;
• wherein the monitoring device is configured to determine that all the communication links of the multiplicity of communication links between the ground control station and the aerial vehicle are interrupted, and in response to determining that all the communication links of the multiplicity of communication links between the ground control station and the aerial vehicle are interrupted, determine a predicted landing site for the aerial vehicle based on stored data and in accordance with defined rules for landing site selection and transmit the predicted landing site to the air traffic control system, wherein the stored data includes current flight conditions data and nearby landing sites data, and wherein the stored data and the defined rules for landing site selection are mirrored on the aerial vehicle;
• and
• wherein the monitoring device is configured for determining a flight route to the selected landing site, wherein the determination of the flight route is carried out according to defined rules for flight route determination, and wherein the defined rules for flight route determination are mirrored on aerial vehicle with the stored data and the defined rules for landing site selection and the aerial vehicle is configured determine the same flight route and the same selected landing site as determined by the monitoring device in response to determining an interruption on all communication links of the multiplicity of communication links.