Pilots are essential to the flying process. But are pilotless aircrafts the future?
As a young girl growing up, Anushka watched planes pass by and knew that it was her destiny. Now, 20 years later, Capt Anushka has realised her childhood dream and is flying for a prestigious Indian carrier. But will it end soon?
Automation is not new to air travel. In commercial airliners, the pilot leaves the flight controls after takeoff. Then, they switch to autopilot and the autopilot takes over the controls, as it has done since 1912. Humans have assigned more and more flying tasks to machines ever since. Automation reduces pilot workload, is very efficient and highly reliable.
“Automated flight systems handle the flight more safely than humans do,” says Capt Basant Shekhar, Designated Examiner, who has experience of over 20 years. Many modern planes are designed to give less control to the pilot in case of an emergency. But those features are a long jump from going completely pilot-free.
“There are aspects of flight that is not yet automated, for example, taxi, avoiding collisions on the ground, performing a takeoff,” he added.
Are Pilotless Flights The Future?
When Airbus announced the first fully automated takeoff in January 2020, a video released showed test pilot Yann Beaufils kept his hand levitating over the sidestick after takeoff thrust. This is the current state of trust in aircraft automation. Pilots are unwilling to let their hands stray too far from the controls and are ready to take over the moment something goes wrong.
Some companies are experimenting or even fully embracing autonomous aircraft. Automated takeoffs and landings are common for Aurora’s Centaur. This aircraft is capable of operating autonomously from before takeoff to after landing. It also has a hybrid mode that allows the aircraft to be controlled from the ground with a safety pilot on board.
Aurora said on an online Q&A session that it does not expect to fully replace human pilots for a while. “Autonomy technology is still years away from safe full autonomous operation, there is significant progress on the technology front but regulatory wise it remains to be seen.”
Increasing aircraft automation asks another question: If human pilots are not involved in flying, will enough people be willing to take the job as ground pilots?
“The idea of being paid to see the world was one of the major reasons I chose this profession,” muses Sr Capt Lal. “Controlling the aircraft from the ground doesn’t have the same appeal to it.”
It all sounds pretty good until something goes wrong. “The biggest challenge of removing pilots from the cockpit,” says Capt Lal, “is the possibility of something going wrong. If ground controller loses contact, can the plane fly itself to safety?”
The FAA (Federal Aviation Administration), the regulatory body in the U.S., has worked for years with aerospace companies to solve the challenges of fully automated flight. The goal is to automate as much as possible but to keep a human element on the ground to control and supervise.
The basic idea is more planes, fewer pilots. “I’m sceptical that the FAA’s will tolerate risk for innovation,” says Capt Lal.
Aircraft will eventually fly autonomously, but that could take a decade or more because of technology issues, regulatory concerns and public acceptance. So, for now, humans remain on board.
Capt Anushka admits, “There isn’t a lot to do. The flight gets a little boring sometimes.” But she hopes for more boring flights ahead.