This thread is very interesting. Perhaps I can attempt to move it into the area of fact.
First Fact. I know it to be a fact because someone I know well is working on it for a large airline. Studies are underway to see how any repetition of 9/11 can be prevented by switching the aircraft on to automatic control if there is any threat to the flight deck crew. If switched on the automatic controls would then land the aircraft automatically at the nearest suitable equipped airport. It would be impossible for either of the pilots to intervene at any stage after that. The technology already exists in numerous aircraft to make this possible. The issue is not can it be made possible but does it add to security and reduce the risks of terrorist/hijacker intervention. I know that where it has been debated the overwhelming balance of the argument has been in favour of enhanced security to prevent any unauthorised access to the flight deck.
Second Fact. Pilotless flying requires a very large amount of radio communication with the aircraft. Yes it does. But this is no problem to achieve. Some years ago I was involved in a study with a major European airline into future information technology requirements. One issue was vastly increased communications with the aircraft at all times. Something way beyond the current capabilities was envisaged. We teamed up with a leading American defence contractor to assess the possibilities. The conclusion was that unlimited bandwidth was available then. JSTARS and the US Airborne command centres already have this capability and have had for a long time. So there is no constraint there.
Third Fact. Does the technology already exist and is it being used. One of the design criteria for JSTARS was to automate the fighter command systems. That is to ensure that an aircraft can be automatically be directed to a new target without any voice commands. I have no way of knowing if that requirement was not met but JSTARS was so successful in the Gulf War (1991) that is reasonable to assume that it was. So let us assume that if there is perceived to be a need to use such technology in civil aircraft the technology model already exists.
Fourth Fact. The use of an automated flight system that has no human intervention on the aircraft assumes that the message to which the aircraft will respond will always be authentic and that only that aircraft will receive that command. The technology for this on military data transfer already exists and is old hat. True there do still seem to be some problems about target identification but these seem to be human related and to incompatibility between different nation’s systems.
Fifth Fact. I have known and worked with hundreds of pilots. Everyone of them believes that the wide availability of ILS and blind landing capability has improved flight safety. They put huge trust in a system which works.
Sixth Fact. The combination of ground mapping radar and satellite navigation can provide for extremely accurate flying even in the worst terrain. Low flying military aircraft have proved this even within mountainous areas.
Seventh Fact. The technology already exists to guide and direct ground based vehicle extremely accurately. Numerous safe driverless railway systems are the basis for this. Guided buses are now being introduced.
EightFact Eight UAV’s already exist, admittedly for very limited missions so far.
Fact Nine. Jamiing can be rendred impossible by continuous frequency hopping.
The situation for aviation is that if pilotless aircraft are seen to be desirable for whatever reason then all that needs to happen is for these technologies to converge.
That is the simple bit. It could certainly happen if it was regarded as essential. But the problems are immense, nevertheless.
Problem One. The system would have to undergo widespread testing and proving before any sort of publics or professional confidence could be created.
Problem Two. The major improvements to current systems would have to come in Air Traffic Control and in ground movement control at airports. Changes in ATC are long, slow and cautious and rightly so. The ATC improvements in Europe which have improved punctuality and increased capacity in recent years were initially planned more than twenty years ago.
Problem Three . Is that any move to pilotless management of aircraft would take decades to introduce. Just take the assumption that the next new aircraft after the 7E7 were to be the first to have full pilotless capability. Assume that such an aircraft were introduced at the earliest in 2012. By then there are likely to be around 30,000 airliners in the world. To replace them would take three decades.
Just think about it. Yes the technology probably is there or could be there quite soon. But the reality is that there is no chance of any pilotless passenger aircraft for around a decade at least, more likely two decades. It will take a long time to become common.
I do not think there is any threat to the career of any current civilian pilot because of this. Sleep easy out there but for your grandchildren it might just be normal to fly in pilotless aircraft. After all if the technology exists it gets used.