Flight Safety Control and Test Flight Experiments under Single-Engine Failure

The complex airflow in low-altitude environments increases the difficulty of flight control for small and medium-sized aircraft after engine failure. To reduce the impact of wind disturbances on the wind vane during flight tests, this paper proposes a heading channel lateral acceleration control method based on active disturbance rejection control (ADRC). The control law is specifically optimized for asymmetric thrust conditions and uses lateral acceleration data from the inertial navigation system as feedback. Monte Carlo simulation results validate the robustness and effectiveness of the proposed controller in handling asymmetric thrust conditions. A series of semiphysical simulations demonstrate the controller’s effectiveness during single-engine failure in the takeoff, cruise, and landing phases. Finally, flight tests further confirm the practicality and stability of the control law under complex conditions. This method provides a promising solution to enhance the flight safety of small and medium-sized aircraft in low-altitude single-engine failure scenarios.