Dryce
Hardcore MB Enthusiast
- Joined
- May 17, 2006
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Well it was more than just that - the whole issue was taking a 1960s airliner and growing it physically and then adding stuff to it so they could keep the legacy old control stuff and all the certification - leaving the pilots with an aircraft that didn't need more training because of those physical changes. It left a single point of failure that could leave the pilot in a very bad position if not informed/trained to deal with it.
All very 'clever'.
Computers can probably restart engines more quickly. And in the later 747s the engine start was rather more automated (no flight engineer).
I think you'll find that several of the worst failures / best recoveries involved older cockpits with additional crew that could work the problem.
Conversely we have had 'engine out' situations with no restart option because of poor ground handling and poor cockpit procedures.
Pilots are a benefit *and a risk*. Just like any other part of the system.
How about pilots flying aircraft into the ground - CFIT.
How about the Asiana crash where there was no ILS available.
How about the deliberate crashes?
(OTOH we have had pilots override ATC and avoid difficult situations becoming fatal - and the Heathrow BA 777 crash involved a pilot making a good decision that appeared counter to the reactions that other pilots might have made ..... which also raises the question as to what the outcome might have been with a different pilot).
How about the crash in the Canary islands where the KLM cockpit crew tried to warn their own pilot that there was another aircraft on the runway.
Your theory would need so many new and expensive systems of ground surveillance, and integration with worldwide aircraft that it’ll need massive investment…….
Plus the amount of people who won’t fly without a human in control.
And the first crash and there’ll be a scramble to pop a pilot back in.
Be interesting to see what insurance premiums will be demanded of airlines etc.
And this equipment will need to be faultless in every airport worldwide…….(good luck with that one)
Airfares would be astronomical.
it’s fairly unrealistic in our lifetimes. Yes more automation will come in, but the reality is that pilots are your safest bet for now.
We see plenty of investment in handling new aircraft types and technology. Insurance companies already have to deal with all the existing complexities - and issues.
You also don't need to equip ever airport. The industry seemed to manage quite capably with a rollout of ILS systems that took years. You just need to equip the routes on which the aircraft are used. That's a staged rollout.
And if it happened it would be about profits - which might or might not lead to *cheaper* fares.
Unrealistic in our lifetimes? Well sort of - but that's because nothing changes instantly. If Boeing or Airbus started making a zero or 1 crew cockpit setup tomorrow it would take what 10 years to establish it and another 10 to 15 years to make two crew cockpits rare. That's a generation. Just like we saw with Cat III automated landing becoming very common across airports and aircraft.
