{"id":180398,"date":"2025-04-10T12:58:42","date_gmt":"2025-04-10T12:58:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/peraltafinancing.com\/airline\/are-pilots-going-to-be-eliminated\/"},"modified":"2025-04-10T12:58:42","modified_gmt":"2025-04-10T12:58:42","slug":"are-pilots-going-to-be-eliminated","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=180398","title":{"rendered":"Are pilots going to be eliminated?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"What happens when our computers get smarter than we are? | Nick Bostrom\" width=\"840\" height=\"473\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/MnT1xgZgkpk?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>We have become accustomed to the idea that we can do more with less and flying is no exception.\u00a0 Improvements in technology first allowed airplanes to fly without navigators as long range radio navigation then inertial systems and most recently GPS coupled with simple computers have simplified the task.\u00a0 The navigator\u2019s job consisted of a combination of taking measurements off the stars and the sun with basic calculations of the projected aircraft path considering speed, wind drift and the like.\u00a0 All of this was easily solved with the advent of calculators that could do trigonometry coupled with systems that could determine the current position, and it was thus a simple matter to combine the two.\u00a0\u00a0 While humans are removed somewhat from the process in this the pilots were trained well enough in the principles of navigation so that they could see if the calculations were not as they should be, much like a person using a calculator should be able to discern if the answer is far off the mark.<\/p>\n<p>Independently, improvements in basic electronic systems and the simplification of system design allowed for the elimination of the flight engineer.\u00a0 While many people may view this as \u201cautomation\u201d, most of the jet transport designs currently operational do not include much in terms of having computers run the systems with the only notable exception being the McDonnell-Douglas (now Boeing) MD-11.\u00a0 Improvements have been made in alerting systems to notify pilots of problems although most of these systems are not particularly \u201csmart\u201d but rather list problems in the temporal order in which they are triggered by the system, with the exception of the MD-11 which does (to an extent) rank the most critical items at the top of the list.\u00a0 \u00a0The systems have not so much been automated as improved such that the engineering design of systems are so simple they require almost no human action most of the time.<\/p>\n<p>The MD-11 does include features that the other airliners do not, such as automatically reconfiguring systems to work around inoperative components or isolate problems, but it still will reach a point where it will defer to the human operator to make a decision.\u00a0 An example is that it will shut down one hydraulic system due to overheat, but not two.\u00a0 The designers considered that the decision to take a system beyond a certain point is too dynamic and dependent on circumstances.\u00a0 What one might need to do while mid-ocean is far different than near an airport, for example.\u00a0 Still, as most routine systems are automated the pilot is put into a monitoring mode.\u00a0 If the system takes an action it is designed to notify the flight crew of that action.\u00a0 In most cases the pilot does not have to take additional action but just consider the situation in terms of the inoperative components on flight planning.\u00a0 However, like the person with the calculator it is very important that the pilot has a clear understanding of how the system works and how it should be operated.\u00a0 The automation is not doing anything that the pilot would not be required to do absent the automation but the reliability of the system could lend a person to not do the mental work needed to understand the system.<\/p>\n<p>Further, as the automation is able to remove the workload of operating a complex system there was less incentive for the engineers to simplify the system as was done on some of the other advanced designs such as Airbus or Boeing models.\u00a0 The MD-11 systems are thus more complex, relatively.\u00a0 This allows for the system to do things that are beneficial that the others do not do, for example, the MD-11 will sense fuel temperature and if it reaches a certain point it will move fuel from warmer tanks to colder tanks in order to prevent the fuel getting so cold it will no longer flow smoothly.\u00a0 In the B-777 if\u00a0the fuel temperature does get dangerously cold the pilots must use a combination of flying faster (increasing the temperature by friction) or descending to a lower (hopefully warmer) altitude.\u00a0 However, the other side of this is the complexity can make it more difficult to understand.\u00a0 There have been cases where the MD-11 system was properly reconfiguring fuel pumps and valves to keep the fuel in close balance and the pilot, not understanding the nuances and thinking that it was doing the wrong thing, turned the automatic controllers off resulting in an engine failing due to lack of fuel.\u00a0 The system was smarter than the pilot, and we are back to the person with the calculator that does not know the process well enough to know if the answer is correct or wildly off.<\/p>\n<p>The autopilot systems have improved somewhat, but are still not all that more of a complex problem than a cruise control in a car.\u00a0 The system essentially looks at what the pilot has commanded it to do and then adjusts the controls to put it there.\u00a0 The main difference being that the pilot can command it to follow an electronic signal from the ground or a path from the navigation system.\u00a0 This functionality is not new, and while new autopilots do a better job it is not much different than the systems available in the 1960s and 70s.\u00a0 The addition of autoland in the 1970s was also relatively simple in terms of just including the radio altitude into the mix so that the autopilot could then adjust the controls to maintain a programmed trajectory.\u00a0 Obviously pilots will monitor this very closely as any failure or bad signal can put the airplane in a dangerous state.\u00a0 The autopilot is not smart enough to discern that things \u201cdo not look right\u201d, although some of the more advanced systems do disconnect when certain parameters are exceeded \u2013 leaving it to the pilot to \u201csave\u201d the airplane.<\/p>\n<p>A pilot can also program the entire route, from departure to the approach to landing, prior to taking off.\u00a0 Still it would not be unlike the ability to program your automobile\u2019s cruise control to drive certain speeds at various portions of your route, it is just that the \u201ccruise control\u201d would also have control over your steering.\u00a0 It is really just following a programmed script.\u00a0\u00a0 The system contains a database of points or a new point can be created via the latitude and longitude and these are just entered in the order the pilot wants the system to follow.\u00a0 Altitudes and airspeeds that the pilot wants the system to follow can also be added to each point in the \u201cflight plan\u201d. \u00a0\u00a0Despite the public impression, these systems rely heavily on human input and monitoring just as would a cruise control in your car that was programmable.\u00a0 It is not possible to anticipate hazards, for example, so the traffic jam, icy road or other aspect would require human intervention.<\/p>\n<p>There are currently several research projects that are looking for ways to further improve designs to that aircraft can be flown with one pilot or no pilots at all.\u00a0 The primary incentive might appear to most to be financial, and perhaps it is, but the promoters of these systems argue that it is to improve safety.\u00a0 They argue that the majority of airplane accidents are the result of human error and therefore by eliminating (eventually) humans flying airplanes we can achieve safety improvements not possible otherwise.\u00a0 It was with this philosophy that Airbus first started designing limits to what pilots could do in their airplanes.\u00a0 They had found that there was little benefit to allowing pilots to overstress the airplane or exceed certain bank angles or pitch attitudes, that pilots had not needed to exceed these conditions to <em>prevent <\/em>a problem but rather had only done so inadvertently.\u00a0 Thus, the flight controls were designed to not allow a pilot to do so.\u00a0 Boeing had not initially agreed, but the evidence was overwhelming and so the newer Boeing aircraft, while not entirely preventing such excursions, do make it much more difficult to do so.\u00a0 To be fair, pilots can also take measures to do so on the Airbus designs as well.<\/p>\n<p>All of this is not particularly an issue.\u00a0 Designing a system so that one cannot do the wrong thing is far different than designing the decision making out the system.\u00a0 A simple example is an automobile lock that is designed so that the car door will not lock a person out of the car or the system that prevents the car being started unless the brake is applied, or even the system that rings a chime if the lights are left on or a seatbelt is not fastened.\u00a0 All of these do prevent errors but do any of them change the ability for the driver to make a decision?\u00a0 Arguably, they do not.\u00a0 The same is true for the current systems in airplanes, so there is some merit to the concept that better system design can eliminate many types of errors.<\/p>\n<p>The aviation industry has been quite good at this, redesigning airplanes and systems to the point that most of the simple errors can be eliminated.\u00a0 Those errors were often caused by a momentary distraction, an attempt to rush through a procedure or by poorly written guidance.\u00a0 Through identifying and then eliminating these possibilities we have created a system where the chance of having an accident is now extremely low.\u00a0 The fatal accident rate has steadily been reduced but in the past few years appears to have reached a plateau.\u00a0 As system and equipment design as improved the failure rates have dropped and that has left just one primary cause of fatal accidents \u2013 human error.<\/p>\n<p>The problem with this position is quite simply that it is wrong.\u00a0 As pointed out by leading researchers such as Sidney Dekker, Erik Hollnagel and others, it is not that humans are making errors but that the remaining gaps are so dependent on human resilience to prevent accidents that those times when humans are not able to do so we view it as an \u201cerror\u201d.\u00a0 Think of it in terms again of the automobile.\u00a0 Anti-lock brakes have certainly saved lives, as has improved signage on roadways, better designed highways, grooved pavement for high speed, banks on curves, better traffic signals, designs of automobiles that eliminate blind spots and improved visibility to other drivers and a myriad other things but safe driving still depends on human skill, particularly awareness.\u00a0 We have used technology to eliminate the more simple problems but the larger ones remain.\u00a0 As British Psychologist Lisanne Bainbridge pointed out, \u201cthe designer who tries to eliminate the operator still leaves the operator to do the tasks which the designer cannot think how to automate\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>Now imagine we design systems that eliminate crashes and the like. Take for example Google\u2019s self-driving car.\u00a0 Certainly it can drive automatically, motion detectors and a very good navigation system can be supplemented with updates of position as it passed roadways.\u00a0 It can avoid obstacles and the like, so what might create a problem for the current system?\u00a0 Have you ever driven down a road and saw an issue that was only potentially a problem?\u00a0 Imagine looking down the road and seeing activity that you recognize as two street gangs facing off against each other.\u00a0 The road is otherwise clear and to the Google car it is just a normal situation.\u00a0 It does not notice the tell-tale signs of a street gang or perhaps an angry mob so will carry you on right into the middle of it.\u00a0 These are the types of issues difficult to solve with current technology.\u00a0 These are the types of aspects that humans are still far better at and an airplane has many more than a car does.<\/p>\n<p>In an airplane the set of issues which are difficult to program are larger.\u00a0 Take for example the smell of smoke.\u00a0 In the car there is no need to program anything, the occupant pushes the emergency stop and you\u2019re done.\u00a0 In the airplane it is not so simple.\u00a0 First, the system would need some way to detect the smoke, and this too is not so simple.\u00a0 Back in the car if you smell something a bit odd you can go on driving waiting to see if it manifests into real smoke.\u00a0 In the airplane the first indication might be just a subtle change in odor.\u00a0 As there are large amounts of air moving through various systems odors change all the time.\u00a0 However, a review of real events have shown that waiting until it was clearly smoke is sometimes too late to prevent catastrophe.\u00a0 Then there is the issue of what the options are.\u00a0 Flying over the North Atlantic at night is it better to ditch or try to make it to the nearest airport?\u00a0 Is it better to depressurize the airplane and slow the burn rate from the fire (depriving it of oxygen) to be able to survive the flying time to the nearest airport or is it better to dive to a lower altitude so passengers do not run out of oxygen?\u00a0 Can a computer make such a decision better than a human?<\/p>\n<p>Other things that are difficult to program include subtle aspects such as a very small change in sound or vibration.\u00a0 Is that a serious change or not?\u00a0 It takes a lot of experience to be able to discern the difference.\u00a0 Then there are aspects that would require engineers who design systems to better understand, such as meteorology.<\/p>\n<p>All of this ignores the issue of power.\u00a0 If there is something that interrupts the electrical power of the airplane and its components, how is the computer flying the airplane to be protected?\u00a0 A good example is fire that is burning through power systems.\u00a0 So until computers increase to the point of being at human-level and the power issue is resolved the concept of replacing humans pilots in airplanes with computers is not realistic.\u00a0 Once we reach human level artificial intelligence then there is another set of issues which make more of this entire topic likely moot, as will be discussed land the end of this article.<\/p>\n<p>So what about the idea then of leaving a single human in the cockpit to capture these issues?<\/p>\n<p>Humans are subject to a number of cognitive limitations and historically it was considered that having more than one pilot improved safety because the second pilot could catch the first pilot\u2019s errors.\u00a0 True there are plenty of aircraft that do operate with a single pilot, which include everything from military aircraft to very sophisticated private aircraft.\u00a0 Smaller charter type airlines also operate this way in many cases so clearly the workload issues could be worked out, at least during routine flights.\u00a0 However, the accident rates for these categories are much higher than would be accepted for mass transportation.\u00a0 Partly this is due to people making mistakes, misperceiving things and the like, but as we create systems to capture these we still see accidents.\u00a0 Why is that?<\/p>\n<p>It is the general view that humans are error prone and that led to the idea of removing humans entirely out of the equation in the first place. The generally accepted reason adding a second pilot improves safety is that a second person will notice these errors and speak up about them.\u00a0 Indeed, that is the basis for the crew resource management (CRM) training that was instituted starting sometime in the 1980s.\u00a0 The concept was that by training pilots to speak up when they noticed a problem we could solve many issues, and underlying this is the assumption that in many cases the second pilot did notice an issue but did not point it out for various reasons.\u00a0 These could include fear, power-distance, not wanting to \u201cmake waves\u201d or even anger.\u00a0\u00a0 There were perhaps some actual cases of this and so CRM training became \u201cthe fix\u201d to solve this problem.\u00a0 Simultaneously, equipment became more reliable, the design of procedures became better and systems were installed that would warn pilots of dangerous conditions, such as approaching terrain, windshear, too steep of a bank angle, approaching a runway on the ground, a collision risk and so on.\u00a0 In addition, ground based systems were installed so that air traffic controllers would also get alarms and be able to shout a warning for many dangerous situations.\u00a0 And, accident rates did go down.<\/p>\n<p>So, was it the CRM that led to this improvement?\u00a0 The truth is that the evidence to support such a conclusion is weak at best.\u00a0 It is not to say that CRM is a bad thing, but rather that it may have not made as much impact as its proponents desired.\u00a0 The same can be said of other programs.\u00a0 One example was a program that essentially centered around the concept that the more\u00a0 precise a person attempts to be in all areas of their life the \u201csmaller the target\u201d will be and the less likely they will be to deviate from what they intended to do.\u00a0 Certainly not a harmful concept, but there is no evidence it has any correlation to accident prevention.\u00a0 Other emphasis is easier to see, such as improved diet, hydration and, of course, mitigating fatigue.\u00a0 Fatigue can definitely be a problem and people do make more errors when tired, but the entire approach is again based on the assumption that errors are the problem when the real issue is the loss of resilience as discussed previously.<\/p>\n<p>That said, obviously a second person can help capture errors, but the real value comes in that a second person, if the pilots are properly trained to work together, create a shared mental model and then act, essentially, as one mind but one with multiple senses. \u00a0That also has a multiplier effect on the experience level and the ability to cope with unusual situations. This does not just double the resilience found in one person, but rather magnifies it.\u00a0 Humans are able to accommodate variability and two well trained humans working closely together are better than one. \u00a0More can even be better as Captain Al Haynes described after surviving the Sioux City accident.<\/p>\n<p>To make this work the system would need to be smart in that it would anticipate what the human needs.\u00a0 That is something the other pilot is doing, they are not only able to react, but actually anticipate the needs and actions of the other pilot.\u00a0 Computers are rather limited at this currently, \u201cauto-correct\u201d being a case in point.\u00a0 Would we really want a virtual computer \u201cco-pilot\u201d that reacts as \u201cauto-correct\u201d does?<\/p>\n<p>The proponents of the concept counter by stating that they can have a person serving on the ground as a \u201cvirtual co-pilot\u201d, ready to assist if needed.\u00a0 The person on the ground would attend to multiple flights under the premise that only one might have an issue at a time.\u00a0 This makes one wonder.\u00a0 Have you attended a virtual meeting?\u00a0 Even under the best of circumstances there are limitations and subtle cues are missed.\u00a0 Hand gestures, facial expressions, many other nuances would be lost. In reality, the person on the ground is working as a dispatcher.\u00a0 Dispatchers are already part of the decision team for safe flights for all major airlines so we are not adding something particularly new.<\/p>\n<p>So the disadvantages of this scheme would be to lose the \u201cshared mental model\u201d, because no matter what sort of data connection there is the second person on the ground would not actually \u201cbe there\u201d.\u00a0 They would not be experiencing the sensations, they would not have \u201cskin in the game\u201d.\u00a0 Even assuming that there was some way to transmit some of those aspects they would still need continuity.\u00a0 Not being completely immersed in what was happening until there was a problem would not be unlike the situation with the Air France 447 Captain who did not come up to the cockpit until after the airplane was stalled.\u00a0 He had almost zero chance of sorting out the issues.\u00a0 If we want to fix that then the person on the ground would need to be virtually \u201cin the cockpit\u201d for the entire flight, which would mean that they would not be virtually able to be in multiple cockpits simultaneously.\u00a0\u00a0 Of course, once we have done that we have saved nothing.<\/p>\n<p>Finally, there is, of course, the problem of someone who is suicidal or similar.\u00a0 The Germanwings case highlights that issue, and there is no known psychological testing that would ferret out that sort of issue reliably. In sum, it is clear that the impediments to both pilot-less and single pilot transport aircraft are larger than most realize.<\/p>\n<p>So what about artificial intelligence?\u00a0 There is certainly no question that once computers reach human level cognition that they will be able to fly an airplane as well as a pilot can.\u00a0 They would need appropriate sensors to pick up subtle odors, vibrations and sounds, but that is not a difficult problem.\u00a0 Methods could be devised to ensure they are powered, so that issue is also surmountable.<\/p>\n<p>It is estimated that computers of this level could be operational in the next few years, although others believe it will be longer than that the overall consensus is that they will be up and running by the end of the century.\u00a0 Is this something pilots should be concerned about?<\/p>\n<p>The answer is \u201cperhaps\u201d, but the real truth is that once human level intelligence is created the world will be so completely changed who flies airplanes is likely not to be a large concern, even for those that currently make their living at it.\u00a0 The reason is that this level of artificial intelligence referred to as \u201cartificial general intelligence\u201d (AGI) is very unlikely to be like a Hollywood movie.<\/p>\n<p>Current technology includes a lot of what is considered \u201cartificial intelligence\u201d or AI.\u00a0 This level includes predicting words on a smart phone or tablet, and numerous other applications.\u00a0 Google\u2019s new car is in this regime.\u00a0 These systems are able to \u201clearn\u201d on their own and as they \u201cwatch\u201d what you do and so improve their performance.\u00a0 Cool stuff.<\/p>\n<p>It seems to follow that if you create an intelligent enough computer that is learning on its own as some point it will be much equivalent to human level, and as humans we tend to anthropomorphize objects so we think of it as being much like it would be human-like.\u00a0 Indeed, it would mimic many human traits as it would be logical to design it to speak, etc.\u00a0 However, as much as it might seem to be human, it would not be.\u00a0 A computer is not even a biological organism.\u00a0 Tim Urban has a<a href=\"http:\/\/waitbutwhy.com\/2015\/01\/artificial-intelligence-revolution-2.html\"> very good discussion<\/a> on this topic, and one illustration considers a spider and a guinea pig.\u00a0 He points out that if one were to make a guinea pig as intelligent as a human it might not be so scary, but a spider with human level intelligence is very unlikely to be friendly or a good thing.\u00a0 A computer is not even a biological organism so is actually more different.\u00a0 Tim points out that a spider is not \u201cgood\u201d or \u201cevil\u201d as Hollywood likes to portray things, but is rather neither, it is just <em>different, <\/em>and likewise would a computer.\u00a0 It reacts to things based on programming, but once it can self-learn and at that level, its motivations are based only on what its job is set to be. \u00a0 <a href=\"http:\/\/www.smbc-comics.com\/index.php?id=4004\">A short example of how this could go wrong is illustrated in this SMBC comic.<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Humans are social animals, primates with the social structure of termites.\u00a0 We survive as a result of that social aspect.\u00a0\u00a0 Termites have evolved to \u201cknow\u201d that any individual will sacrifice itself to prevent the destruction of the hive.\u00a0 Altruism and self-sacrifice is not something we attribute to insects, but the fact is that termites, bees, ants and other social insects will take actions that in humans we would consider altruistic.\u00a0 The fact is that by being social animals humans are able to succeed where non-social animals could not.\u00a0 As a result we have evolved to be social and our \u201cprogramming\u201d reflects this.\u00a0 It might be described very roughly as follows:<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>Prevent harm yourself unless (in order);\n<ol>\n<li>Your family is in danger, protect them first.<\/li>\n<li>Your \u201ctribe\u201d is in danger;<\/li>\n<li>Your Nation is in danger;<\/li>\n<li>Prevent harm to another person outside your group.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>The last items might or might not occur, many will protect themselves before helping strangers.\u00a0 The programming varies.\u00a0 Very few would not give their life to protect their children, their spouse and immediate family and we are programmed to keep it in that order.\u00a0 The entire point of all of this is to ensure our genes survive, and it is better to ensure that even a bit of your DNA makes it (you will have relatives most likely in your tribe, nation, etc.), and it seems that the stronger the DNA connection (or in the case of a spouse, the likelihood of ensuring your genes survival) the stronger our will to do anything to protect them is, even at your own expense.\u00a0 Of course, intrinsic in all of this is self procreation.<\/p>\n<p>Obviously, a computer only has the traits we have programmed it to have so as much as it might <em>appear<\/em> to be human, it really is not.<\/p>\n<p>This leads into the larger concern.\u00a0 Computers today process information millions of times faster than humans but still lack human intelligence.\u00a0 This article is not intended to get into the technical aspects of how our brains are structured, but suffice to say the structure of our brains allows for ways of processing information and connections that computers are not yet capable of.\u00a0 Once they are, though, they will be combining that faster processing with those connections.\u00a0 Connect to the internet and things happen fast.<\/p>\n<p>Consider a computer with this capability and the ability to learn.\u00a0 It starts as a toddler but an hour later has the ability and knowledge of Einstein, and an hour after that is has the combined knowledge of all the great thinkers combined.\u00a0 Unlike us, it has constant access to ALL of that knowledge and a much faster processing skill.\u00a0 The problems that take us years to solve or appear without resolution are likely to be trivial for it.<\/p>\n<p>Is there any doubt that it could rapidly know ways to make itself even faster and smarter?\u00a0 Does it have the ability to adjust its pathways and improve its structure based on its knowledge?\u00a0\u00a0 If we give it that ability, or it figures out how to do it on its own, then the intelligence can increase even faster.\u00a0 Above AGI is artificial super intelligence, or ASI.\u00a0 In this realm we are looking at a computer that is not just a little more intelligent than us, but instead millions of times.\u00a0 This is a system that might realize there is a way to manipulate matter, time or space.\u00a0 It would not be limited to our perceptions of reality. The trouble is that it is farther above us than we would be to an ant, and we might not be relevant to it or just a nuisance.<\/p>\n<p>All of this is such a tremendous game-changer that who is flying our airplanes becomes somewhat of a trivial issue.\u00a0 ASI could lead to solving all the problems of humanity or the end of humanity. \u00a0\u00a0People like Stephen Hawking and Bill Gates are very concerned. Elon Musk is so concerned he states he spends a third of his waking hours thinking about it.\u00a0 This while running several companies! \u00a0Hopefully it will turn out well.\u00a0 If it solves all of the problems of humanity than all of us may be able to live just doing what we want without any real need for work.\u00a0 If it goes badly then \u00a0none of it will matter either.<\/p>\n<p>The bottom line here is that we might see a push for single pilot or even no-pilot airplanes, but if we do it is based on a fundamental misunderstanding of what the issues are and where the risks lay.\u00a0 We might automate the basic functions but that would still leave us vulnerable to the real \u201ccorner-point\u201d scenarios that lead to actual accidents. \u00a0Contrary to popular opinion, most accidents do not follow a simple linear causal chain. \u00a0It would be safe most of the time, true, but not as safe as the public demands today. \u00a0It might plateau to safety levels reached in the 1970s or so. \u00a0Reaching the higher safety levels now demanded by the public and regulators would require AGI, and once we reach that point the outcome moves in directions that are beyond the ability to reasonably anticipate.<\/p>\n<p>=================================<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/airlinesafety.blog\/angle-of-attack-book\/\"><img decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"659\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/airlinesafety.blog\/2012\/02\/02\/inflight-fire\/aoa-book-image1\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/airlinesafety.blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/aoa-book-image1.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"395,522\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;S Malmquist&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1501688080&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"aoa-book-image1\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/airlinesafety.blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/aoa-book-image1.jpg?w=227\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/airlinesafety.blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/aoa-book-image1.jpg?w=395\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-659\" src=\"https:\/\/airlinesafety.blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/aoa-book-image1.jpg?w=640\" alt=\"aoa-book-image1\" srcset=\"https:\/\/airlinesafety.blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/aoa-book-image1.jpg 395w, https:\/\/airlinesafety.blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/aoa-book-image1.jpg?w=114&amp;h=150 114w, https:\/\/airlinesafety.blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/aoa-book-image1.jpg?w=227&amp;h=300 227w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 395px) 100vw, 395px\"\/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><span id=\"wordads-inline-marker\" style=\"display: none;\"\/>\t\t\t<\/p><\/div>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>We have become accustomed to the idea that we can do more with less and flying is no exception.\u00a0 Improvements in technology first allowed airplanes to fly without navigators as long range radio navigation then inertial systems and most recently GPS coupled with simple computers have simplified the task.\u00a0 The navigator\u2019s job consisted of a [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":156002,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12028],"tags":[24281,25005],"dealstore":[],"offerexpiration":[],"class_list":["post-180398","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-airline","tag-eliminated","tag-pilots"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Are pilots going to be eliminated? 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