The idea of a self-flying plane may sound like a crazy concept but the COO of a major aircraft company has claimed that they already have the technology to make it happen. Christian Scherer, the Chief Commercial Officer from Airbus has said that they could send up planes without pilots now, and there wouldn’t be a problem.
The idea has been mooted for some time but there has always been the perception that further work was needed on safety. However, Airbus say they are confident this box has been ticked and the only barriers left are convincing the public and their own lawyers.
Unmanned planes are not a new concept and the idea has won backing for the future of freight and military operations. However, carrying passengers without a pilot at the helm is a very different matter and there are concerns that it’s just too soon for the public to even consider the idea.
The push to introduce autonomous self-flying planes has not been helped by the performance of self-driving cars where crashes have occurred. There was also an incident in the sky where two Boeing planes collided, thought to be due to errors within the automation systems.
It’s clear that the future of self-flying planes is almost here but the real question is, are we ready to accept it?
