Originally Posted by
nefarious1
After watching another child of the magenta balls up a visual STAR while trying to fly the FMS, I’ve gone into the office to ask a C&T manager if they do any manual hand flown sectors during line training....”No, they might stuff up”. Well hey, they might also learn something and build skills and confidence. I frustratingly walked out thinking of managers as ostriches with their heads in the sand, and ass holes in the sunshine.
Whether we old fogies like it or not, the magenta line is destined to become queen. Not long before any sort of hand flying between the "gear up"call and 50 AGL will be banned by SOPs. All in preparation for the day ATC's computers assume direct control of the aircraft's track and speed. You already receive clearances and requests via CPDLC it's only one small step further to communicate directly with the automation. The biggest weak link in the chain so far is the lack of 100% reliable communications.
And as far as physically handling emergencies?.. You can always teach a computer with enough sensors to do it better than a human.
Incidents like these plaguing the 737 Max are just part of the learning curve for the manufacturer's (and their customers) on their route to making the pilot as superfluous as possible. Its just that Boeing never envisioned the corruption, and lip service to training and standards by some of the airlines out there coupled with the ineptitude of some of their crew. They can no longer ignore what they've always pretended didn't exist and its been an expensive lesson for Boeing. You can be sure Airbus's eyes are like soup bowls too.
Net result is the ever increasing automation of airliners - and it will be sold to us because its safer, cheaper, more efficient.. blah.. blah..blah.