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Lufthansa CEO thinks passengers are not ready to travel on large planes with only one pilot
Brussels - According to Lufthansa Group CEO Carsten Spohr, it is technically possible to assign only one pilot per flight, but passenger trust is a problem. (airlinerwatch.com) Más...Sort type: [Top] [Newest]
In working for a well-known avionics manufacturer, and within our age of drone refinement, the future plan for the fifth generation cockpit is - retaining two pilots in command of the aircraft (both with equal aircraft control) - BUT - with the PIC on the airplane and his co-pilot operating remotely from a ground station (again - both with equal control capability) - an added benefit would be always a survivor in every crash . . . . expect this by the mid-2030s. Such technology will not die. . . an increase of bandwidth capacity is of the few limitations remaining to be resolved, but they are working on it . . .
A survivor in every crash...unless, the aircraft hits the control facility.
I'll be the realist and say it's coming. Not quite yet but sooner than later. As autonomy improves any pilot is primarily a PM right now. At some point there will be no need for two PMs.
One pilot is a bad idea. On long legs in particular at night the potential for the pilot flying to become fatigued and follow a sleep is definitely possible. Having two pilots up front is important to prevent this.
No, both pilots have fallen asleep many times. The loudest snorer usually wakes the other up though.
Commercial airliners have 2 or more pilots for redundancy. Regardless, almost all phases of flight require a PF and PM. If QF32 or U.S Airways 1549 were without an F/O let alone 3 additional pilots (QF32 scenario), I believe the outcomes in both instances would have been much different...