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That's one of the implicit reasons why US based airlines in the past used to recruit retired pilots from U.S Air Force. In case instruments fail or contradictor

That's one of the implicit reasons why US based airlines in the past used to recruit retired pilots from U.S Air Force. In case instruments fail or contradictory signals are present, pilots with physical skills (kinesthesia, etc) can steer away from dangers. Two incidents demonstrate that: 1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asiana_Airlines_Flight_214 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asiana_Airlines_Flight_214 2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air_France_Flight_447 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air_France_Flight_447 Pilots on both came from the civilian background. The difference between civilian training and combat training is that the latter is more trained to operate in conditions that involve instruments failure, distress, etc.

ApolloFortyNine 8y ago
Aren't both of those just examples of pilot error, regardless of autopilot? In the case of the Asiana flight, the captain chose a visual approach when he could have let the autopilot land it. And from there it's simple pilot error. In the case of the air France flight, one of the pilots chose to ignore a stall warning and pull up instead of pushing down to gain speed. Sadly, in the case of no pilot input the plane actually would have ended up avoiding the stall on its own. I of course agree that military pilots with real experience will likely perform better than civilian pilots, I just doubt autopilot had any part to play in either of those accidents, like the comment you replied to implies.
sjm-lbm 8y ago
There's also been a lot of discussion and research about how to best interact with autopilot, and when the best times to turn it off and operate the airplane manually are. There is a talk[1] about this that is really popular among pilots, and I honestly think it seems increasingly relevant to the rest of the world as more and more things become computer automated in some fashion. [1] - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pN41LvuSz10 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pN41LvuSz10

ApolloFortyNine 8y ago

Aren't both of those just examples of pilot error, regardless of autopilot? In the case of the Asiana flight, the captain chose a visual approach when he could have let the autopilot land it. And from there it's simple pilot error. In the case of the air France flight, one of the pilots chose to ignore a stall warning and pull up instead of pushing down to gain speed. Sadly, in the case of no pilot input the plane actually would have ended up avoiding the stall on its own. I of course agree that military pilots with real experience will likely perform better than civilian pilots, I just doubt autopilot had any part to play in either of those accidents, like the comment you replied to implies.

sjm-lbm 8y ago

There's also been a lot of discussion and research about how to best interact with autopilot, and when the best times to turn it off and operate the airplane manually are. There is a talk[1] about this that is really popular among pilots, and I honestly think it seems increasingly relevant to the rest of the world as more and more things become computer automated in some fashion. [1] - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pN41LvuSz10 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pN41LvuSz10