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Honeywell predicts Single-Pilot future

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And then there was one. Agatha Christie’s theme will be playing out soon in aircraft, according to Honeywell executives who believe that technology will pave the way for automation to support single-pilot commercial operations in the next five to seven years. (www.aopa.org) More...

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Mackhatter2003
Bill Sanford 10
I had a long and safe airline career. Neither would have been possible without another crew member by my side. There are some things technology can’t help with.
sparkie624
sparkie624 4
I agree.... I like the idea of a "Auto Pilot" to assist the crew.... But I am high against an "Automatic Pilot"....

I can just hear the pilots announcement just before take off... "Ladies and Gentlemen, this should be a smooth flight today, the weather is clear and calm... Flight Attendants, please be Seated.... Seated.... Seated.... Seated.... ".

What a comforting thought... :)
jayhawkwilly
For allmost 20 years I flew a passenger mostly to Denver to our company HQ.
andrrr
keith potter 5
When this happens i ll stop flying on that airline !
bbabis
bbabis 1
Will you have a co-driver?
airuphere
airuphere 5
It’s not just the technology, it’s decision making and having one level head, if the other is ‘in the clouds’.
bentwing60
bentwing60 10
The single most significant benefit to the accident rate in modern history is CRM. That takes two. If the current diatribe against Boeing technology doesn't indict the idea that one pilot is better than two because the tech. will take care of the rest, then I won't even get into AB crew, technology fails. By the way, what level are you up to on your Xbox ATP?
mp31rdc
MP 31 4
Those Honeywell "executives" all look like they're in their 20's...They haven't been alive long enough to predict anything.
E1craZ4life
Edward Bardes 3
Germanwings proved the dangers of a single pilot in the cockpit.
bbabis
bbabis -1
There were two. It only takes one. Does having two double your chances of suicidal pilot? That accident and possibly MH370 may be a reason to have just one.
E1craZ4life
Edward Bardes 3
The second pilot would intervene if the first pilot tried to do anything to intentionally crash the plane.
bbabis
bbabis 2
I say again. There were two pilots onboard that flight. How did that help?
E1craZ4life
Edward Bardes 2
One of them locked himself in the cockpit by himself.
JMARTINSON
JMARTINSON 1
Help what? Did it help prevent the deaths of everyone on board the flight? No, it did not. Could it have helped? Yes. Did it help prevent the deaths of possibly hundreds or thousands of people on the ground in addition to those on the flight? Yes, it probably did.
rboddy91
Rich Boddy 3
This just in: company who would profit massively off of a single pilot future predicts single pilot future. More at 11.
Jdgold
The technology is here. I believe the lawyers and insurance underwriters are the bigger hurdle.

[This poster has been suspended.]

Jdgold
I believe the initial step of single pilot in large jets will include a human “operater/pilot”assisting the single pilot from the ground via data link. The ground-based pilot would monitor several flights at once and would assist during critical phases of flight or during non-normal situations. There will still be human to human CRM, although it will be less effective than traditional CRM, as non-verbal communication would not occur.
E1craZ4life
Edward Bardes 1
In other words, the air traffic controllers would double as pilots?
bentwing60
bentwing60 1
sparkie624
sparkie624 1
The way I see it the ADSB and TCAS would basically be the controllers interfacing with Ground Computers and Radar...

"Oops..." Short Final.. "OMG - the Blue Screen of Death"
bbabis
bbabis 1
Until the problem involved an interruption to the ground link. Then the pilot would be on his/her own with the problem.
mikeenderle
mikeenderle 3
Germanwings 9525. Unless human nature is fixed I don't think we need to say much more.
lynnpype
lynnpype 2
Well, dual pilot didn't prevent that from happening either.
E1craZ4life
Edward Bardes 1
Because they didn't have another crew member hold the captain's seat when he left the cockpit.
PlainSpeaking
Brent Bahler 3
Just because something can be done does not mean it should be done. I mean, we already have the technology to fly drones remotely which is perhaps okay for delivering your Grub Hub order. But I am betting that 170 souls on board would prefer a couple of those souls be in the cockpit with some skin in the game.
E1craZ4life
Edward Bardes 0
"Life, uh... finds a way."
nasdisco
Chris B 5
No No never

Can you imaging being the only Pilot on Quantas Flight 32, or Southwest 1380, US 1549?
JMARTINSON
JMARTINSON 10
I just hope the one pilot doesn't order the fish.
topgunnh
Peter McGrath 4
Shirley you jest!
paulgilpin1953
paul gilpin 4
you. were supposed to say "surely you jest". so that, someone else could say "don't call him/me shirley". stop hogging the script, and play your part.
E1craZ4life
Edward Bardes 4
*splashes water on face*
bentwing60
bentwing60 2
Some humor here is a "gust" of fresh air!
sparkie624
sparkie624 6
Just a question... How would the A/P had handled the EMOS failure? Single Pilot will also throw CRM how the door. Who is going to Troubleshoot an issue? Call up an FA.... I would not fly an Airline with only 1 Pilot and I am a person who likes and trusts automation, but not to the point of replacing people.
bennettgaryw
Gary Bennett 2
We have gone from 4 to 3 to 2 soon to be 1 and then none. Not what we want but what we will get...
glenkrc
glen krc 4
Reminds me of the old punchline. "If we lose that fourth engine, we'll be up here all day."
sparkie624
sparkie624 2
LOL.... I remember that one well...
RAYGIB
RAY GIBOULEAU 1
I won't get it....I'd never fly with that carrier.
bentwing60
bentwing60 2
I have an old Tahoe, and I like to drive it. Cheers.
oldfolkie
Iain Girling 6
Who was it that predicted the flight deck of the future would contain a man and a dog. The man was there to feed the dog and the dog was there to stop the man touching anything.
bbabis
bbabis 2
I see a sharply dressed uniformed pilot in suspended animation in a glass tube. Stowed next to it is a red hammer on a chain with a sign that in 10 languages reads "In Case of Emergency, Break Glass."
sparkie624
sparkie624 3
OMG.. You just gave me a vision...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1IS6DEUZ_gs
Viperguy46
Jesse Carroll 1
Now that's STILL funny!
hortod1
dj horton 2
Have a hard time believing insurance companies will go for this anytime soon
scott8733
scott8733 2
The main reason (embedded) is the lack of pilot supply vs. demand. Nothing more, nothing less.

Therefore, we keep hearing about a single guy (or gal) at the pointy end. I weep for that day.
E1craZ4life
Edward Bardes 3
A gentler barrier to entry money-wise would turn less new trainees off.
scott8733
scott8733 2
Indeed. The old adage was what do we call an unmarried F/O at a regional carrier? Homeless. And, I'm unsure that adage isn't just as true today as it was 20 years ago.
watermarker
Iam McKenzie 2
Arguments against this happening mirror those raised in the reduction of crews on Trains, where technology is nowhere near as advanced/sophisticated as on an aircraft. Don't imagine that a huge mass travelling at high speed carrying far more passengers/payloads riding on two slivers of steel is any safer than an aircraft gliding on a cushion of air. The only delay to implementation will be the recent problems at Boeing. The cost saving, however minute, will determine the outcome.
n555cf
rbt schaffer 2
Might take a lesson from the 737 .... They should concentrate on a button to turn automation OFF.
Sabretooth78
No thanks.
indy2001
indy2001 3
I hope I'm dead before this happens in commercial aviation because that would end my travel on airliners. Even putting a single pilot in FedEx, UPS, and other cargo planes is stupid and short-sighted. I'll bet their unions have something to say about the matter as well.

And I cringe when I read all the predictions about electric aircraft. The electricity to power these new aircraft, as well as all the electric cars we're supposed to be buying soon, must be produced in some kind of power facility. Currently the huge majority of them are powered by fossil fuels (coal, gas, oil), which we are committed to reducing or eliminating within a couple of decades. Solar power isn't efficient enough yet, there isn't enough wind anywhere (outside Washington DC), and people freak out when nuclear power is even mentioned. What do they expect is going to cover the energy shortfall?
MikeMohle
Mike Mohle 2
The "new and green" power comes from Magic, from Government BSers. That is the the same place where Bernie Sanders' trees that grow "free" money for stuff come from.
carpetshoe
carpetshoe 2
Solar energy is cheaper than a new nuclear, coal or gas plant.
sparkie624
sparkie624 1
How much does it produce at Night?
carpetshoe
carpetshoe 1
Enough during the day to charge up batteries to be discharged at night in many parts of the world. When going away from the equator towards thee poles, seasonal storage will likely be needed too but work is progressing on this.
sparkie624
sparkie624 2
LOL... I am sure that will be a good viable for the Poles!.. LOL, Northern Alaska... Geez... So they are going to store them in Batteries that are potentially explosive devices to produce AC at night... Which means we take the solar, convert it to DC, Store it, Convert it back to AC... LOL... this is all Liberal BS. May be ok for the Equator... but not much further north... I am not buying it.
sparkie624
sparkie624 1
But not as reliable...
lynnpype
lynnpype 2
The majority of airline crashes nowadays involve some kind of pilot error. Single pilot - if implemented well - has the potential to make aviation safer, as it relies on technology to make the judgment calls. It would also be the only realistic answer to address the pilot shortage problem.

Yes, I hear you, MCAS. But the MAX is ingrained with the Boeing philosophy that places human judgment central, it is not a single-pilot plane and could never be one.

OTOH, it would take another generational expire or two to make single-pilot commercially viable. I'm sure the majority of those in their teens and twenties today won't mind stepping on a single-pilot plane, and they will definitely get the chance later in life.
jmilazzo
joe milazzo 1
The last step in this “remove humans from the work force” is to replace those who make those decisions! We reap what we sow!
doh
Brian De Jong 1
I hope they’re wrong.
ElliotCannon
Elliot Cannon 1
The machines are taking over.LOL
bbabis
bbabis 1
I see Garmin introduced "Emergency Autoland" today. Any passenger can push the button or it can take over if it senses the pilot is incapacitated. Game changer for single pilot operators.

https://www.garmin.com/en-US/autonomi/?utm_source=Americas&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=en-US%20Delivery%2C%20Autoland%20Announcement%2C%20avn%2C%20MCJT-26608
bbabis
bbabis 1
An even better link.

https://www.aopa.org/News-and-Media/All-News/2020/January/Pilot/hands-off?utm_source=ebrief&utm_medium=email
captwright
captwright 1
Nope. I would purposefully avoid any carrier that tried to implement this, even if it actually happens.
KC3CDU
Timothy Clark 1
as a blind person, I often wonder if flying will ever be done autonomously.
naturally, safety plays a huge part in a choice like that and frankly I don't think it will ever happen but you never know.
jayhawkwilly
I can’t believe that I wouldn’t have a qualified pilot setting in the left seat in case of a failure of the system that is in control.
Viperguy46
Jesse Carroll 1
The day they go to "one" pilot, I'll stop flying commercial, if not sooner! Soooo tired of being treated as cattle!
MikeMohle
Mike Mohle 1
MOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! Heading out on SWA tomorrow. How did you know? LOL
Propwash122
Peter Fuller 1
We seem to accept the extra risks of of single-pilot scheduled airline operations already, at least on smaller craft on short routes: here in New England, courtesy of Cape Air, plenty of flights on the nine-passenger Cessna 402C.
bennettgaryw
Gary Bennett 0
And then there is none...
patstphens1174
Richard Fox 0
Nah, But don't count on your careers for too long...
patstphens1174
Richard Fox -9
FUTURE IS PILOTLESS AND ELECTRIC!!!!!!
bennettgaryw
Gary Bennett 4
Sometimes when you speak the truth people do not like it!
doh
Brian De Jong 1
But this time, the kids aren’t speaking the truth. At least not from a safety perspective.

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