Originally Posted by Bombay Bad Boy
Sorry folks, i'm an ATC type person and I'm just trying to get my head round this.....
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After Take off, how much can the FMS do of your work anyway? Can the autopilot take you direct to destination and even land the damn thing if autoland equipped?
BBB
Well, take the example of the Helios Boeing 737. When the pilots were stupid enough to take off with outflow valves wide open, try to turn off the decompression warning instead of putting on oxygen masks and pass out as a consequence, the autopilot did what it was supposed to do if the pilots were playing cards etc. and not touching controls: it went on climbing to cruise level, flew to destination - and, when no one tried to land the plane, circled on its own around the last waypoint until it ran out of fuel.
Basically, I suppose that had pressurization worked, the autipilot would have done the same if the pilots, instead of fainting, would have got up, locked the empty cockpit and spent time in the cabin until reaching the hold pattern.
However, this is what actually was done by the autopilot of this (rather old) plane. What could an autopilot possibly be made to do?