Originally Posted by
Capvermell
LordSpandexMasher wrote:-
Yes there is:-
1. Vastly enhance current aircraft control systems so that they simply refuse deliberate control inputs by a pilot in charge that could only have the intent of crashing the aircraft. This would include obvious things that seem to not currently exist such as auto pilots also knowing about the height of all terrain and high buildings or masts etc on the ground so they would never accept any flight route that would fly the airplane deliberately in to terrain. The aircraft should only be capable of being descended to anywhere near ground level at locations where there are known suitable airports of an adequate minimum runway length for that aircraft type.
A, Too easy to confuse with a deliberate attempt to avoid, for instance, a mid air collision. B, I'll just crash it onto the suitable and adequate airport instead.
2. As part of that vast enhancement in auto pilot systems also require that all commercial passenger aircraft over 40 seats or whatever figure is decided on (it is probably going to be too expensive to retrofit and/or fit at all these kinds of protections for very small scheduled passenger aircraft) have a capability where the flight controls on the flight deck can be locked out from the pilot in charge and an auto land sequence to land the aircraft at the nearest commercial airport with a long off runway be initiated remotely by either the nearest ATC centre or the airline's own operations and control centre.
You're just shifting the capability of mass murder to ATC or the OCC but with no way of overriding. What will be the conditions required for this lock out to be initiated?
3. In order to facilitate the use of the remote auto land facility at point 2 above ensure that there are various prominently marked emergency telephones in break glass type cabinets in the passenger cabin (with a suitable threat of an up to 10,000 Euro fine or up to 6 months in jail for inappropriate or malicious use) and galley areas that either cabin crew or passengers can use to contact ATC or the airline base in an emergency to demand that control be taken out of the hands of the flight deck crew right now and the plane auto landed at the nearest suitable airport in terms of runway length and current weather conditions.
You believe a drunk passenger or mentally unstable cabin crew? I know, I fancy hijacking this aircraft and now all I have to do is make a 'phone call to the airline's very own self help hijack help line.
At this point a pilot in charge could then only crash the airplane by carrying on materials that would let him set fire to the flight deck or similar but in principle security checks for getting airside also ought to prevent any pilot from being able to do that.
Or disabling the system....
Like I said.