Would you fly in a commerical airplane that was a remotely piloted airplane?

Question

Would you fly in a commerical airplane that was a remotely piloted airplane? What if they had a single pilot instead of 2 with the ability to switch to a remote pilot in case of emergency?
With the growth of this technology in the military sector it wont be long before the big commercial airlines figure out a way to use this to save costs.

Answer 1

I would.
Technology is getting better and better these days and soon more efficient datalinks would make this possible.

There might be those who argue that the system may fail and ugly crashes would happen. I agree, it could. But, that occurs even now with the man-in-the-loop (meaning clueless/hapless/drunk pilots), and yet with all those thousands of crashes, we still take a chance, dont we. Millions of chances, as a matter of fact.

And for the gentleman who said that human brain cannot be replaced by machines: It can be and it will be. Intelligence, instincts and fear, maybe not, but we sure can make a system that can anticipate and respond to any probable scenario that a human in a similar condition faces.

Already technology has made the Navigator/Flight Engineer Redundant in an modern big aircraft, Pilots will be the next to go. Stewardesses will stay on.

Answer 2

HAHA... never gonna happen and if it does, see ya later... too many things could go wrong... think about that DC-10 crash in Iowa several years ago, a few hundred lives were saved because the pilots worked together to land an airplane with no control surfaces... tell me a computer could control the the airplane with no surfaces, just 3 engines... NOPE!... also, i dont think that a pilot flying the plane from a computer half way around the world could do it either because so much of flying is feel, thats why simulators dont teach the real thing, you have to feel the effects of flight to fly effectively.

Answer 3

That's supposed to be the future some people are saying...but I'd like a set of human brains making the decisions that concern my safety at the front of the aircraft not a robot.

but who knows......commercial airliners are already automated to such an extent that pilots are now called 'systems managers' as a joke! a lot of the thinking has been taken away from them by automated cockpits.

UAVs are getting more and more impressive each year it's more than likely they'll have a huge role to play in commanding a passenger flight in the future.

Answer 4

Remote? Forget it. Single pilot? Sure. I fly alone all the time. Reality is I never fly airliners, anyway. I have no idea who's in the left seat of the thing, and he/she is probably not as experienced as myself.

Answer 5

Unlikely that it will gain acceptance. For example, a London Underground line has had trains that operate fully automatic for many years, but they have a driver there 'just in case'. Public opinion prevented unmanned operation.

The again, consider that a large percentage of aircraft accidents are directly related to 'human error'.

Answer 6

Sorry, but lemme say a big "F**K NO!!!" I 'm terrified of getting on a plane anyway, so again- no freaking way:):)

P.S.- My fiancee says he would because pilots barely fly the planes nowadays anyway, mostly guidance systems.

Answer 7

I'll pass. A computer can never replace human brains. They have auto pilot already.

Answer 8

NOPE.