Aircraft are much easier to fly than cars are to drive . . . there will come a point when an automated system will be statistically safer than using pilots . . . neither will ever be 100% safe . . . the real question is, which one is safer at a point in time ? . . . Views of the flying public will rapidly change IF fully autonomous aircraft are shown to be safer than using pilots as part of the control system . . . it is inevitable that this will happen at some point . . . whether it is cost effective is a different matter.