Single-pilot plan is a disaster waiting to happen

THE concept of flights operated by a single pilot should send a shiver down the spine of anyone with a love of travel. The Australian and International Pilots Association represents more than 2300 airline pilots.

The overwhelming majority of them would tell you that a pilot flying solo with 300 passengers is a very bad idea. The UN body that sets aviation standards has been asked by a number of nations to help make single-pilot flights a reality by as early as 2027.

At this stage Australian regulator the Civil Aviation Safety Authority is watching from the sidelines. Hopefully it will soon offer an opposing view.

Because the thing is that an aircraft flown by a single pilot would be absolutely fine – most of the time.

Aircraft today are modern technological marvels.

They can transport nearly 500 people nearly halfway around the world with monotonous reliability.

But their extreme reliability is built on the back of redundancy.

Whether it is two engines, multiple sources of electrical power or hydraulics, or dual or triple navigation systems, aircraft are designed to continue functioning safely even when something important goes wrong.

Having two pilots is a vital part of that impeccable redundancy picture.

There is a misconception that once airborne pilots push a big button labelled “autopilot” and put their feet on the dash. This is not the case.

The autopilot just allows pilots to not have to hold the control column for hours on end, causing fatigue.

At high altitudes, when the control surfaces are incredibly sensitive, it provides smooth and accurate flying.

What the autopilot doesn’t do is make a decision to fly around a thunderstorm or change flying levels to minimise fuel burn.

It doesn’t decide on where to quickly divert if a passenger has a heart attack.

These decisions are made by pilots. And they are made as a team to ensure the best possible decisions are made.

With two crew on the flight deck there is protection, not just against brain fades, but also against incapacitation – which is something that is virtually impossible to predict.

The argument for single pilots is, of course, that it would save money. But the cost of one extra pilot divided by hundreds of passengers is ludicrously small.

Would anyone seriously be willing to compromise their safety for such an insignificant saving?

Getting the technology right for automated cars and trucks is still a long way off.

The idea of being in the hands of only one pilot and a computer at 12km above the earth is too scary to countenance.

I know I would never put my family on that flight.

Passenger announcements from the cabin crew asking if anyone knows how to fly a plane should only happen in comedies like Flying High, not real life.