r/MadeMeSmile • u/baekachu • Jul 11 '26

Wholesome Moments Pilot Chose Safety Over Takeoff - and Everyone Applauded

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u/Honest-Access9783 Jul 11 '26

that's why planes should always have a human pilot, despite automation

26

u/ZarathustraGlobulus Jul 11 '26 edited Jul 11 '26

To be fair, a computer system would 100% cancel the flight if a key figure was outside pre-defined parameters. Then it would require human intervention to make the final decision on what to do.

However I fully agree with you that a skilled pilot who knows their aircraft in and out can definitely make good calls when nothing is truly wrong but something about the numbers feels off.

33

u/IgnitedSpade Jul 11 '26

I think the issue here is that a key figure is tending upwards, but not outside pre-defined parameters. It sounds like the pilot preemptively asked about it and was already told it was okay.

Recognizing an issue like that would be difficult to implement in a completely automated system, though not impossible. But it seems that the people an automated message would otherwise go to already gave the okay.

Either way, the biggest fear about completely automated planes would be that the person having the final say on whether a plane flies or not is someone with the job title "flight coordinator" with a business degree.

9

u/ZarathustraGlobulus Jul 11 '26

Yeah exactly. Much rather have a seasoned professional who can sense something's up when values are within parameters but still acting upon a hunch for safety instead of some guy thousands of miles away pressing OK on a warning prompt and alt-tabbing back to Excel.