Originally Posted by
OverUnderDone
IMO - we may not see it for a decade or more and it'll start on a smaller scale - think cargo and regional flying. Even then - the US will not be the first to try it out. We'll first see it overseas with likely mixed results. One major accident though and you'll see 2 pilots back into all larger pax aircraft faster than any admittance of guilt.
the FAA single pilot testing was supposed to be with cargo carriers.
In the cargo business, there's a lot of work in progress to go straight to drone technology for small to large aircraft so they may just skip the single pilot testing for cargo companies.
How long after cargo carriers go drone will that shift over to passenger aircraft is a question mark. I'd expect single pilot operations during the transition.
When this technology starts getting implemented is probably less than a decade away and eliminate any pilot shortage/need to raise retirement age. It will also kill pilot wages, as it would create a huge glut of pilots.