Pilotless planes…?
What would happen if a pilot – the captain or the second officer – became ill, incapacitated or even die?
A problematic situation easily rectified. The remaining fit pilot is able to take the controls and land a plane single-handedly. They are trained for this kind of emergency in case it happens.
However, there’s already talk of single-pilot and pilotless aircraft because of the foreseeable shortage of commercial pilots. The question is, what would happen then? Is it going to be fly-by-wire?
If that’s the case then, will fly-by-wire be intercepted and hacked? I would rather know I have two pilots up front and, in worst case scenario one capable of flying the aircraft. If fly-by-wire is implemented it should only ever be part of the safety equation. As a back-up for when both pilots are incapacitated. I hope the idea of fly-by-wire is not one of cost-cutting, if that’s what airlines are thinking…