Why we Need Real Pilots Instead of Robots

[Briar Lee]

Southwest Airlines plane aborts landing after close call at Chicago airport

A Southwest flight had to quickly abort its landing to avoid a potential collision with a private jet on the runway at Chicago's Midway Airport.

www.aol.com

The business jet pilot repeated the tower warning to hold short, and went right on.

That 737 Max 8 pilot needs a raise, don’t you think?.

Any real pilots out there, what causes near misses like this?

 

[Briarcutter]

what causes near misses like this?

Complacency,presumptuousness?

 

[Briar Lee]

Complacency,presumptuousness?

That private plane pilot, did not want to die.

Something like larger or better markers for runways?

 

[BingBong]

The little jet pilot forgot his Highway Code. Mk.I eyeballs would have saved his blushes. Stunning reactions from the South West captain, he was on the TOGA button in a flash, wheels didn't even hit tarmac.

 

[Briarcutter]

That private plane pilot, did not want to die.

Something like larger or better markers for runways?

Probably texting his GF while on auto pilot

 

[Briar Lee]

The little jet pilot forgot his Highway Code. Mk.I eyeballs would have saved his blushes. Stunning reactions from the South West captain, he was on the TOGA button in a flash, wheels didn't even hit tarmac.

Please translate Highway Code to a terrified passenger.

And, does a pilot just need to push a button To Go Around?

And why aren’t there something like railroad crossing arms, to stop these things?

 

[Briarcutter]

Maybe the training is different today? Wouldn't think it is getting soft but you never know. I don't even want to get on a plane these days.

 

[Briar Lee]

Maybe the training is different today? Wouldn't think it is getting soft but you never know.

Nobody was ever trained to make a mistake and go past a runway.

That’s a jet certified pilot. He’s been holding at runways for a lot of hours, except this time.

He wasn’t distracted, because he repeated the order to hold.

How are runways marked?

 

[cosmicfolklore]

Maybe the training is different today? Wouldn't think it is getting soft but you never know. I don't even want to get on a plane these days.

I made my wife cancel our trip to Europe because of all the crashes. That, and I don’t think Europe likes us at the moment.

 

[BingBong]

Please translate Highway Code to a terrified passenger.

And, does a pilot just need to push a button To Go Around?

And why aren’t there something like railroad crossing arms, to stop these things?

Look right, left and right again to see if it's safe to cross. It's the other way around on USA roads, but for the bizjet pilot, looking right before crossing would have let him see the SW jet.

Yes, there's a button to Go Around in modern airliners.

At London Heathrow (LHR), they have traffic lights embedded in the taxiways. Follow the greens, stop where you get reds. It takes a lot of pressure off everyone (except the light operator)!

 

[dd57chevy]

I hope they are hiring pilots based on ability & not appearance.

I remember the crash 35 years ago in Sioux City . An engine exploded & disabled almost all of the controls .

Captain Haynes had enough togetherness & savvy to get it down by circling & goosing an engine .

Many died , but many more survived :

United Airlines Flight 232 - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[RL Bucktails]

I hope they are hiring pilots based on ability & not appearance.

I remember the crash 35 years ago in Sioux City . An engine exploded & disabled almost all of the controls .

Caption Haynes had enough togetherness & savvy to get it down by circling & goosing an engine .

Many died , but many more survived :

United Airlines Flight 232 - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Captain Haynes and crew including a passenger who was a airline instructor, who I think manned the throttles.

 

[Servant King]

I disagree. I think robots are an improvement over real pilots. At least the robots are in their "natural" state (which is, ironically, an artificial one). During this transitional period where all the humans are being assimilated into the iPhone Borg, there are just too many breakdowns as a result of this symbiotic incompatibility. Square peg in a round hole, and all that jazz. Seems to me we'd be better off with just the artificial thing by itself, rather than a hybrid being in the process of morphing.

This is why I'm never invited to do a TED talk on transhumanism. That, and my astronomical wage demands would push them way over budget.

Plus, I don't think they'd allow pipe smoking on the stage. How's that for incompatibility?!?

 

[renfield]

Taxiing around a complex airport is far more difficult than flying the approach or departure, IMO.

The pilot definitely had live taxi diagrams available to help but somehow he wasn’t where he thought he was.

In the ATC comms you hear him having some problems hearing or reading back his taxi clearances a couple of times prior to the incursion. He sounded a little bit behind the airplane. It could’ve been something as simple as task saturation. It would be interesting to see if he was operating single crew.

I gone around many times because of various things straying onto the runway while I’m on final. Tractors, deer, dogs, other planes, once a jogger. These were all at “uncontrolled” airports but it can happen anywhere.

 

[Briar Lee]

I disagree. I think robots are an improvement over real pilots. At least the robots are in their "natural" state (which is, ironically, an artificial one). During this transitional period where all the humans are being assimilated into the iPhone Borg, there are just too many breakdowns as a result of this symbiotic incompatibility. Square peg in a round hole, and all that jazz. Seems to me we'd be better off with just the artificial thing by itself, rather than a hybrid being in the process of morphing.

This is why I'm never invited to do a TED talk on transhumanism. That, and my astronomical wage demands would push them way over budget.

Plus, I don't think they'd allow pipe smoking on the stage. How's that for incompatibility?!?

The gurus that be have worked out, these tiny drones that for maybe $500, will just up and fly around and then push a button, and they land.

Skip ahead a century and maybe they’ll all be passenger drones.

I agree, there can’t be ANY human control of a true flying car or ATC for it.

But if I’m passenger on an real airplane I want an older pilot and a younger one, and a pretty stewardess those men don’t want to kill, no matter what, on my airplane.

 

[dd57chevy]

Wow , glad the S?/West pilot was paying attention !

 

[cosmicfolklore]

these tiny drones that for maybe $500, will just up and fly around and then push a button, and they land.

Yeh, I have been flying drones just long enough to know that many, many of them end up shredding propellors in powerlines and trees. And, usually on people's first run with them, 90% of the time they accidentally swing them into the side of a house. I will not be getting on board any drones or drone operated type aircraft anytime soon.

 

[Briar Lee]

Yeh, I have been flying drones just long enough to know that many, many of them end up shredding propellors in powerlines and trees. And, usually on people's first run with them, 90% of the time they accidentally swing them into the side of a house. I will not be getting on board any drones or drone operated type aircraft anytime soon.

The 737 Max 8 holds close to 160 souls and costs around 120 million dollars.

737 MAX

www.boeing.com

That little business jet probably costs less than one engine on the 737.

There is only one consolation when the $500 drones grow up to be 5 million dollar drones.

So long as there are the great big ones, they’ll have clear runways.

 

[pylorns]

And, does a pilot just need to push a button To Go Around?

And why aren’t there something like railroad crossing arms, to stop these things?

No you can't just push a button. You've got to give max power back top the engines, remove the landing trim, or adjust to take off trim, pull back on that yoke.

 

[prairiedruid]

Back in the 80s I was on a 727 coming in to land at Helena Montana. All of sudden we were slammed into our seats as the plane aborted landing at the last minute. The pilot at the last moment saw debris on the runway. Guess I still trust humans.