Not to say that we don’t need pilots anymore, but that pretty much all the mechanics to fly a plane can be automated now, no? Also, with drone technology you can technically fly a plane remotely and it’s two lives saved in the event of a rare disaster and it would enable the FAA to better investigate if it was caused by human error vs. technical difficulties.
In: Engineering
Autopilots are very good, but only at predictable things. In certain bad weather situations, with unexpected failures, in quite a few airports… the pilots have to be at the controls because the autopilot can’t handle the situation. If an airport is fogged up to the point where planes need to make fully automatic landings they also need to keep more distance, with lower airport capacity and delays as a consequence.
The reason why they’re not flown remotely is because fitting it with 2 extra seats is probably a lot easier than relaying the instrument information and pilot inputs continuously. Also there can be no communication between ground and airplane over oceans.
Latest Answers