Could airlines eventually be piloted by robots? That is the question that was posed in this article by the New York Times as a part of the post-Germanwings crash discussion. The article mentions how pilots nowadays barely even fly the plane themselves during a typical flight (only about 3-7 min on average) because of the thoroughness of the autopilot’s capabilities. Remarkably enough, the landing process (arguably the most difficult and important during a flight) can be completed by computer on its own as well. In the case of the Germanwings crash, planes are also able to sense when it is approaching the ground or a mountain range and alert the pilot to correct the situation since it is flying too low.
So if a plane can carry out all of these tasks on their own, why do we even bother with pilots in the first place? I know that if I were about to board a plane and I was told that the flight would be completed solely by a computer with no pilot on board, I would probably get off the plane as fast as I could. As much faith as I have in technology, it is a different story when it is a life or death situation, and having a human pilot on board to remedy any potential emergency situation would be very comforting. But, if I were to learn that the plane would be flown entirely by a computer, and there will be a pilot on board to account for these emergency situations, I would probably stay on the flight.
Advancements in technology such as this are incredible and it seems as if our world around us is being slowly taken over by computers that replaces a jobs that have been done by humans. Something else that the article does mention, however, is that instead of there being pilots in the plane, there could be pilots working from outside the plane in a remote location, flying the plane with a computer on the ground. This idea sounds incredible from the pilot’s point of view, but again in my opinion not so great for the passengers. It offers the safety for the pilot to complete his or her job without the risk of hijacking or any other extreme event, but it leaves the passengers stranded on their own thousands of feet in the sky. It abandons the old notion of the “captain going down with the ship,” and exposes itself to another angle for terrorists or whomever to possibly hack the computers they are using and crash the planes that way.
The best solution will most likely be a combination of what the future could provide us and what we have now. Improved computer systems for flying along with improved practices by pilots and airline companies to hire, train, and maintain the best pilots available. It truly was a shame that so many people lost their lives due to what appears to be a selfish act on the suicidal pilot. What is even more sickening is that no matter what new measures are being made to prevent these accidents (in this case a more fortified cockpit door that was implemented post 9/11 to keep out hijackers that actually kept out a pilot), there are people like Andreas Lubitz who think of new ways to hurdle those obstacles and use it to their advantage. I can only hope for a brighter and safer future, but who knows what kinds of scenarios could play out from a risky move like this to completely automate flights.
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