Single-pilot NASA Study

Single-Pilot Cockpit Idea Floated in NASA Study

 

Facing potential shortages of airline pilots and dramatic advances in automation, industry and government researchers have begun the most serious look yet at the idea of enabling jetliners to be flown by a single pilot. 

 All large commercial jets for passenger and cargo service world-wide now fly with at least two pilots in the cockpit. A new study by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration and Rockwell Collins Inc. will focus on the provocative idea that co-pilots could remain on the ground, remotely assisting solo aviators on the flight deck during the busiest parts of flights, said John Borghese, Rockwell's vice president of its Advanced Technology Center. 

 Whether the concept will eventually come to fruition depends on political viability and social acceptability as well as technical feasibility. The researchers aren't endorsing the idea or devising specific plans for single-pilot operation of large commercial jets. Rather, they seek to analyze changes in technology and operations that could make the concept feasible in the future-even if that means as far off as 2030.