SEATTLE - Boeing says it is looking at the concept that airliners in the future might have only one pilot on board, but beyond that the company is saying little.
Elsewhere, the Operationally Speaking blog by respected British aviation journalist and pilot David Learmount of Flightglobal says that the European Union and other elements of the European aviation industry are studying the same possibility.
The concern is that the rapid expansion of the world's airlines is exceeding the ability to generate qualified pilots fast enough.
What may allow safe and reliable one pilot jets is cockpit technology and the concept that a "co-pilot" could be ground based, much like U.S. Air Force drone pilots sit in an office, but are in command of unmanned aerial vehicles over Afghanistan half a world away. The multi-lateral one-pilot project would leave at least one human being on board an airliner.
Initially, the concept is that cargo airlines could test the idea first, with passenger airlines coming later - maybe. Everything is contingent on reliable back-up systems if the sole pilot on board were to ever succumb to a medical emergency aloft.
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Airliners with one pilot? Industry is considering it | KING5.com Seattle