Global Aviator December/January 2017/18 / Vol. 9 / No. 12 3
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Looking
forward
A few weeks ago I watched a film about Capt. Chesley Sullenberger
and his historic landing of an Airbus A320 on the Hudson River, New
York City, after a flock of geese took out both engines. Not a single
passenger or crew member was lost although
they all got extremely wet.
This was the type of decision that could only be taken by an
experienced pilot, one who had confidence in his ability and who
could, in a matter of seconds, decide on a course of action that would
possibly save the lives of those entrusted to his care.
Can a computer do this? Definitely not and I am afraid that
nothing will convince me otherwise. There are many in the world of
aeronautics who maintain that pilot-less aircraft will be ‘flying’ by
- Boeing for one has begun researching the possibility of
commercial-passenger jets that will fly without pilots, using artificial
intelligence guiding automated controls to make decisions in flight.
The question remains – where decisions such as landing on a river
instead of a runway is the only choice, can technology make such a
decision? Can AI think outside the box?
On long flights, airline pilots will switch to autopilot as they
cruise for hours and commercial jets often auto-land, probably the
closet thing to pilot-less flight as the aircraft’s systems react to
changes in the environment and surrounding conditions. It is
even possible to auto take off although that would be a career
ending move by pilots.
According to Boeing statisticians some 40 000 pilots will be
needed within the next two decades and AI is one way of achieving this
but, and I am sure that a very large number of passengers will
agree with me, I want to see two human, thinking, people up front in
that cockpit. I want to see them and I want to hear that comforting voice
saying, “Ladies and gentlemen, this is your captain speaking,” and not
some computer recording.
It’s ‘Happy Holiday’ timeDuring 2016 a total of 14 071 South Africans were killed on
our roads. With the Christmas holidays just around the corner
many of our clients, readers, friends and family will be setting off
for a well deserved break. Many of you will be boarding aircraft
but many more will be climbing behind a steering wheel. So often
accidents are caused not by ourselves but by others on the road
and we can so easily become a statistic by being in the wrong
place at the wrong time. Take care and drive safely and remember
to take the December issue with for some relaxing reading.
We would like to wish all our readers both locally and overseas a
fantastic Christmas, and our Russian friends and clients who celebrate
on 7 January. We won't be in Moscow this year but from previous
experience we know that it will certainly be a fantastic Christmas for
you all. We have experienced Christmas in a number of countries
around the world but never as beautiful as is celebrated in Moscow.