Originally Posted by
JTwift
Autoland is, essentially, a drone landing.
No it isn't. A pilot is still there to take over when parameters are exceeded by the automatic systems.
The problem with drones is that they still have not demonstrated that they can see and avoid or sense and avoid. And once a system is created getting it certified and a standard adopted I believe is a long way off.
A big threat to drone airplanes would be hacking. Even our military's drones aren't exempt from that. We've seen our FAA systems crash, and nearly every airline has had their systems crashed or hacked.
It's going to be a while before the regulators, the lawyers, and the public is onboard when all this stuff is designed.