Originally Posted by
grounded27
I guarantee you if given the green light and with an accepting market that an autonomous passenger aircraft could be in operation within a few years or less.
But what about all the non-technical issues that need human input.
What about when a decision needs to be made in the moment, can a computer run DODAR/TDODAR/PIOSEE the same way two humans can? Can the computer apply reasoning and judgement.
What if a fire develops and the aircraft systems are damaged.
Could a modern day computer have dealt with Sioux City, or QF32? Could it make the decision to go/no-go with a failure approaching V1? Could a computer decide when to evacuate an aircraft (BA2276), or what to do in the event of a double engine failure over a built up area (US1549)?
What about with a critical medical emergency over the Atlantic. How does the computer decide where to go?
The most important and viable reason for removing a pilot from the aircraft is risk-to-life.
Such as with combat UAVs. It also allows for smaller (therefore cheaper) aircraft.
The same could happen for cargo and freight eventually.
But when you've got 100-500 passengers on an aircraft, removing the pilots for that reason is irrelevant.