The recent release of the study of the near loss of an Emirates A380 that pulled up from a steady descent with only 170 metres – and 15 seconds – to spare above Moscow airport in 2017 fully supports my call for unification of the multitude of automation systems on modern aircraft.

I’ve argued before that something strange – other than lack of care for the safety of passengers or even lack of money – is stopping such unification.

Presently there are a series of systems that can be switched in and out for maintaining altitude, attitude and speed (auto pilot). Or for more serious emergencies: For avoiding stalls. For avoiding hitting the ground or mountains. For charting courses. etc etc.

But there is no overall system that can just can fly the plane from start to landing and stop poor decisions due to fatigue or mistakes or issues during minor or major disasters.

The point is there is no automated system that questions why the pilot was heading straight into the ground in the first place.

Only 15 seconds from total loss of an A380!

No overall system monitoring the entire flight.

The only thing that saved this A380 – while both pilots were distracted by piecemeal automation systems and communications with the tower – was the ground-facing radar warning.

If that had failed it’s all over.

The computer is happily watching a fully-laden A380 head on an incorrect trajectory towards the ground until the very last few seconds!

Why?

Landings could be 100% automated – but aren’t – causing numerous poor landings due to slight – or large – approach problems, mistakes or otherwise caused by human error or weather. The computer could do it in shadow mode and pilots would learn from it.

Or at least learn their limitations and appreciate why full automation should be the future of aviation.

When approaching the wrong runway for example.

576 times in one year.

As an automation systems engineer and PhD physicist – and close follower and fan of aerospace developments – I’d like to call that it’s time for aircraft to fly themselves. Sure, pilots should actually fly them but the systems should be in full shadow mode throughout the flight. Not just for parts of the flight or when switched in.

It was automation that saved this A380.

But this near disaster would never have come close to occurring if the plane was flying itself or in shadow mode with a pilot flying it for the entire flight.

I wonder if it’s a fly-boy mentality at the top levels? I don’t know. But when the pressure is on – during take-offs and landings, or during emergencies – there is too much going on for people.

Plain and simple.

I’m not criticizing the pilots. They are top guns, truly. We want 100% safety. 100% safety is beyond humans.

If pilots could actually rely on the plane flying itself and not crashing into things while they were monitoring problems or communications or the weather or other issues then everyone would be safer including the pilots.

The tech is up to it. Are the egos?