Is it possible pilots will be replaced ?
 

Will computers replace pilots in the next 30 years? Or will single pilot cockpits become a thing? Just wondering.

Is it possible pilots will be replaced ?
 

Maybe... Who knows. Depends what people get comfortable with.

20 years ago when I worked for a large auto manufacturing plant, there was a spot weld line (one of several) with over a hundred people working on it. About 9 years ago I was programming robots for the replacement of that line. The new line had zero people working on it.

I know this anecdote is loosely related but it is a good example of technology replacing traditional jobs. In 30 more years I would imagine technology will be more than capable of replacing pilots if it is not already. The more relevant question is will people accept a pilotless plane. IMHO they will. In the next few years driverless cars will be on the road and we will acclimate to letting a computer do the driving. How big of a leap will it be to let a computer do the flying?

Is it possible pilots will be replaced ?
 

I'm sure we can drop some fear grenades and delay pilotless planes a while... Imagine if the plane gets hacked by terrorists.. What if the system crashes.

Also today's ATC system is ill equipped for pilotless airliners and congress isn't too quick to get next gen ATC going.

Pilots aren't needed to fly the plane at all. They are needed for emergencies. When a computer can pull off a "Sully" with a 99.9% success rate, I'll think about flying in a pilotless plane.

Pilotless airliners
 

http://mobile.nytimes.com/2015/04/07..._r=1&referrer=

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. — Mounting evidence that the co-pilot crashed a Germanwings plane into a French mountain has prompted a global debate about how to better screen crewmembers for mental illness and how to ensure that no one is left alone in the cockpit.

But among many aviation experts, the discussion has taken a different turn. How many human pilots, some wonder, are really necessary aboard commercial planes?

One? None?

Advances in sensor technology, computing and artificial intelligence are making human pilots less necessary than ever in the cockpit. Already, government agencies are experimenting with replacing the co-pilot, perhaps even both pilots on cargo planes, with robots or remote operators.
........

I hate articles like this. They never discuss the risks involved with pilotless or single pilot airplanes.

This article says it best and puts to rest a lot of the myths, one might say lies, in these rash of recent pilotless airline stories since the Germanwings disaster.

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/10/op...ll-matter.html

Luck and Magic can't be programmed.

That's the point. There are decisions to be made outside of which button to push or system to bypass. If it has to come down, will it aim for a field and not a school? A simple system failure and catastrophic engine or airframe failure are the only scenarios I see man and machine equal. In my opinion, there's a lot of ground to cover in between.

It's been awhile since I read the account but, I think while preparing for ditching he covered items that may or may not have been on the checklist. That may have kept them floating. So luck and magic had human help.