Invitation
At BOAC invitation I will respond here to bearfoil's comments in the Islamabad thread.
In one sense I agree with FlightSaftey and others that the historical trend towards fully automated planes must run its course.Where I disagree (perhaps) is that I think that:
(1) this trend deserves to be followed to it's logical conclusion because it has earned the opportunity to do so by factually demonstrating it can improve safety. I have no inherent love for a machine over man (usually quite the opposite).
(2) that this trend should run its course by real world experimentation. By that I mean you take fully automated commercial flights, with real passengers in them, and let them fly their routes, and see if they crash or not.
(3) That the results of this experimentation should dictate whether the human being has any future on the flight deck.
In his last comment bearfoil wondered if I have bias. I most certainly do. But my bias isn't toward the result but towards the process. I don't care whether human beings are or are not in the cockpit 100 years from now. But I do believe that this decision should be made based upon factual data rather than appeals to emotion ("consider the tradition of the pilot!" or "machines rob humanity of dignity!") or philosophical paeans to "balance". If balance causes more death than unbalance, balance can take a hike.