Industry pushes for single-pilot flights
The call for single pilot operated commercial flights is gaining steam.
Having just one pilot in the cockpit is an obvious plus for cost-conscious airlines, despite the safety fears.
More than 40 countries have petitioned the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) to set aviation standards to allow single-pilot flights.
These include Germany, the UK and New Zealand.
The European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) has been collaborating with planemakers to work out how solo pilots could operate flights safely.
EASA says services could begin by 2027.
However, it is not well supported by pilots or the public.
“The people going down this route are not the people who fly jets every day,” Tony Lucas, president of the Australian and International Pilots Association said.
“When things go awry, they go awry fairly quickly.”
“We are potentially removing the last piece of human redundancy from the flight deck,” Janet Northcote, EASA’s head of communications said.
“The psychological barriers are probably harder than the techbarriers,” Boeing South-east Asia president Alexander Feldman recently said.
EASA says sometime after 2030, flying could be automated; allowing planes to be remotely landed if a pilot became unresponsive.
Colin MatthewsNov 22, 2022 12:05 PM
Safety could actually be increased if the aircraft operation was replicated in a ground control centre, with remote pilots able to take control, if necessary. One or more pilots could cover multiple flights, only intervening when required.
Log in to ReplyMark FreedmanNov 22, 2022 12:01 PM
Gaining steam? Never heard of this insane petition and the flying public would be outraged. This is clearly originating from airlines looking to increase the bottom line at the expense of safety. It's a non-starter.
Log in to ReplyMichael JonesNov 22, 2022 08:48 AM
have you gone mad ? The 737 max is the safest aircraft in the sky right now
Log in to ReplyPaulNov 22, 2022 08:40 AM
Has the world gone mad? This is as ludicrous an idea as it sounds. What happens if the technology breaks down once the solo pilot is incapacitated? This is not Thunderbirds. It’s actually worse than asking people to still fly on the Boeing 737 MAX.
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