Single-Pilot Planes: Are They A Boon Or A Bane?

Galloping technology has led to the concept of single-pilot planes. How safe are they for commercial airlines which carry many passengers?

- SHOBHA JOHN

Even as India is being touted as the world's fastest-growing aviation market, single-pilot operations for future commercial aircraft are on the anvil. The country already has some 10,000 civilian pilots and 1,000 more are needed annually to fuel the growth trajectory. With huge aircraft orders, the Indian market is buoyant. So what will happen when singlepilot planes zoom into the skies? While this will take a while, the very fact that Tesla cars have hit the road shows that technology is moving fast. But yes, even these cars aren't fully autonomous and need driver intervention at various stages of driving.

SAFETY OF PASSENGERS

Coming to single-pilot operations, while aviation regulators, airlines and aircraft manufacturers are keen to have this technological leap, pilot unions are fighting it. And passengers? They could well be sitting ducks.

A 2019 Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA) white paper on "The Dangers of Single-pilot Operations" said that the most vital safety feature in transport category aircraft is: two experienced, trained and rested pilots in the cockpit.

It said that studies by NASA and FAA show that the safety risks and challenges of single-pilot operations far outweigh its potential benefits.