Mr Carruthers is hardly likely to want to be the first passenger on a fully automatic flight if he has seen the film and the recorded results of the 707 flight that the Faa attempted fully automatic.
The ground operator appears to lose control of the 707 on approach in perfect weather conditions, missed the landing target test equipment point ( fuel tank rupture into pylons was the test) the aircraft was a write off as planned but the test basically an expensive failure because they could not control it and land it where they wanted.
You will observe they could not/ did not do a goaround off of this unstable and inacurrate approach either.
However you will recall the Faa does insist and require pilots to do a go around in such circumstances on a flight or sim check.
They did not do themselves what they require of the regular pilots they licence.
To my knowledge the Faa never attempted fully automatic passenger jet flight testing in an empty test aircraft ( in perfect weather) again.
Having attempted to demonstrate flight without a crew they returned to their trade of approved crew training, exam and flight testing, licence issue, airline monitoring, and then....the prosecution/ disiplinery action and licence removal of the same. They appear able to handle this role but not a no crew 707.
Having crashed the plane, wasted lots of time and money for no result other than finding fully automatic flight was difficult, they all actually all kept their jobs!
Years later the president of Airbus alluded to imminent no crew fully automatic flight.
Haveing just returned from Alicante on an Air 2000 Airbus flight 641D some of the toilets did not flush and this is a fault I observed on the Gulf Air Airbus 320 fleet many times 5 years ago!
If airbus cannot work a fix to stop nappies going down its toilet system in 5 years, Mr Carruthers no crew flight is a while away.
IMHO pilots can relax regarding fully auto passenger flights terminating their declining career status.