I'm sure there could be a thousand such examples.
Right off the top of my head, the pilot of the MD82 or whatever it was rejected take-off way over V1 having collided with an SD360 at CDG. Had he continued they would arguably have all perished.
Or the HS748 that landed straight ahead, a baulked take-off if you will at STN after a catastrophic engine failure. The aircraft was not capable of sustained flight of more than a few minutes at best. Had they not done so, the would certainly have perished.
So I'm with Hawking. The CAA have already identified the lack of basic piloting skills in modern aircraft operation. Lawyers who want to minimise risk and transfer liability to the manufacturer, accountants who hate paying pilots, and managers who just hate pilots.
Presumably they would also have their own children undergoing surgery by the local butcher. After all, what's the difference?
Pilotless aeroplanes are unlikely to be acceptable to the travelling public whilst there's the slightest chance of some mad mullah taking over the control channel, and smashing them into The Whitehouse.
I can think of a million reasons why this ridiculous concept will remain the fanciful imaginings of airline executives as they hide in the gents with a box of tissues.
I'm sure you can think of more.