Plane manufacturer Boeing is working on passenger planes that will have the technology that allows just one pilot to fly them.
Steve Nordlund, vice president at Boeing, has revealed that this technology is being worked on at “good speed”.
He told the Independent that Boeing believes in “autonomous flight and self-piloted aircraft” and that the company is “working on those technologies today.”
EU aviation rules state that planes with 20 passengers or more currently need a minimum of two pilots in the cockpit at a time in case of emergency.
The new technology will reduce the need for the number of staff on board and could help aide with the current pilot shortage.
However Steve said that won’t see the likes of a Boeing 737 with just one pilot for now and the technology is likely to be used in cargo jets.
This may still be hard to hear for air passengers, after disasters such the Germanwings plane that flew into the French Alps in March 2015.
The pilot on board killed all 150 people on board, and as a result the European Aviation Safety Agency ruled that there must be two pilots on board a plane at all times.
Steve said that the technology would only be deployed if it appeals to airlines.
WIN A FREE HOLIDAY Fancy a free holiday to Disneyland or Dubai? Vote in our Sun Travel Awards and enter our prize draw for six great holidays
He also said that it would depend on the “comfort levels of the consumer” when it comes to commercial planes.
He added: “When it is cargo, that aspect is taken out of the equation.”
So it might not be a never to a passenger plane with just one pilot – instead it's a not just yet.
Pilots have previously revealed what they're really up to in the cockpit of a plane when you're on board.
You might like you to think that pilots always have their steady hands at the wheel.
But in reality, airmen and women normally flick on autopilot within seconds of taking off.
In normal circumstances, modern computer tech on passenger planes allows for next to no human intervention apart from during take off and landing.
While this fact might panic some, frequent flyers need not get too jittery.
Find out what they're up to once they switch on autopilot here.
Source: Read Full Article