Originally Posted by
grounded27
What disgusts me is that it is so clear that aircraft manufacturers have been allowed to cater to liability free operation through the sale of automation. They also sell aircraft that require less maintenance to maintain automation at what I feel is a lesser standard leaving the operator with more responsibility and less help.
Playing devil's advocate, the manufacturers are only giving the operators what they asked for. Each phase of automation from the early gyro units to the modern FMS autopilots has statistically improved safety and reliability, so the operators asked for more with each generation. That the operators didn't take into account the need for pilot training to increase as more time was spent in George's hands is largely on them. This process was exacerbated by a shift in management experience - as the old guard, who were usually in aviation all their careers, retired and were replaced by people who were straight out of the MBA school.