Britten-Norman Pilotless Planes

[Pip_Pip]

Case in point

It has been a while since the pilotless aircraft debate raged on this thread, but the recent KAL incident brought it to mind:



Thankfully no serious injuries were reported. Amid speculation (in the Accidents & Close Calls forum) regarding the precise circumstances leading up to the overrun, I’m surprised there hasn’t been more discussion about how the crew eventually managed to get the plane to stop. At risk of leaping to conclusions based on nothing more than a photograph (see above), the evidence does suggest it went something like this:



If my theory is correct, then it provides a timely reminder of the important role human beings continue to play in the cockpit when unusual and unforeseen circumstances arise. Moreover, I’m not sure a single pair of feet would’ve sufficed on this occasion – this one looks like it was a real ‘four-legger’ (as I suspect this type of close-call will come to be known).

(Despite the tongue-in-cheek observation, there is a genuine point being made here - especially if it turns out that the overrun was related to a fault with the aircraft)