Airlines push towards single pilot ops

[CL-Skadoo!]

https://www.seattletimes.com/business/a ... ety-fears/

It's a long road ahead to prove that one pilot with a significant group of safety nets could be safer than two, well-rested, qualified pilots in the flight deck, but the wheels remain in motion.

[jpilot77]

Last week or the one before a regional in the states had a pilot die in flight.

https://www.cnbc.com/2022/11/22/envoy- ... -died.html

[CL-Skadoo!]

Last week or the one before a regional in the states had a pilot die in flight.

https://www.cnbc.com/2022/11/22/envoy- ... -died.html

You are most correct, happens all the time. However, the point of the article was that airlines are pushing TOWARDS filling in gaps like this before implementing a single pilot operation. That's where the interesting discussion comes in. To say, yes, let's go single pilot tomorrow without any changes to our aircraft, oversight, and technology is completely not the point of this exercise. I was careful in my wording for that very reason.

We, as professionals, will need to give better evidence than "someone could die at the controls, and then you all die". They're prepared to have someone in a call centre oversee the aircraft while it lands itself after the captain croaks.

I don't want to become the 1970's flight engineer that said "two pilots will never be able to manage the aircraft and run checklists on their own". My goal is to know my adversary here, before half of us are deemed obsolete in 10-20 years.

[link821]

Would it really be cost savings if you have to pay someone to sit in a remote room and be at the ready in the event the one pilot kicks it? Let’s replace CEOs with AI instead.

[CL-Skadoo!]

Would it really be cost savings if you have to pay someone to sit in a remote room and be at the ready in the event the one pilot kicks it? Let’s replace CEOs with AI instead.

Would one person on the ground replace one pilot in the air, or 5? We're dealing in hypotheticals, of course. Perhaps the aircraft is just going to land itself without too much additional intervention from a ground facility. Who knows?

[link821]

Fair point. The system in which pilots gain experience would take a very interesting turn..if the big airlines start doing it to save money, I guarantee the small 703/704 operators would want to do the same with metros and 1900s, which are already single pilot approved airplanes… from my own personal experience, I don’t know if I would’ve survived jumping single pilot ifr in a chieftain with 250hrs. Also current single pilot duty regs limit a pilot to what, 8hrs duty?

[flyinhigh]

This is all a moot point here in Canada. TC can’t finish the paperwork on a medical or type rating within 20 months at this point.

Changing the regs will take 20 years at this rate the way this bunch operate.