TRTJ said:
I am not a pilot, I work in sensortronics.
Is there anyone in the know that could shed any light on if TAWS (terrain avoidance) or GCAS (ground collision avoidance system) will one day become automatic? I know NASA developed a system for the usaf but I doubt if it's commercial yet. Obviously if unconsciousness was the issue by this point of proximity to terrain it wouldn't be much help which leads me to my next question...
Could the emergency descent procedure be initiated automatically by the A/P in case of sudden de-pressurisation? This would leave the pilots' with severely reduced mental capability only one task. Oxygen. It seems emergency descent is the only option in case of extreme pressure loss, so why not make the initiation phase (flt level, heading etc) automatic, and immediate. Obviously this would have to be a highly redundant sensor system as you don't want spurious pressure readings leading you into an unwanted descent!
Emergency descents are not triggered automatically. Very few things are automatic and rely on pilots to know their memory drills well. Some newer aircraft have the ability for automated TCAS responses (e.g. A380). None (I know of) have automated TAWS, I guess that is because false TAWS alerts aren't unknown.
I think a lot of the reasons things are not automated is because incidents tend to happen in the grey areas where there are complex failures where simple (consistent) solutions may not always be the best option. That's why the Captain is a crusty old sort with millions of hour experience, who is able to use his/her professional judgement to save the day.