Should we convert passenger air-liners to drones?

4 points by zxcvcxz 11y ago ↗ HN

-Pretty hard to hijack

-Is it possible to create a situation where only authorized personel can control the flight mechanisms from the ground?

-would you fly in one?

-what other advantages/disadvantages would it have?

3 comments

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- Pretty hard to hijack / Possibly, but what about hacking it? If it used gps technology researched have already shown that it can be messed with to take control. http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-18643134

patmcc 11y ago ↗

There's no real advantage - we currently have autopilot that's quite good, so you really have the best of both worlds - skilled humans plus useful computers. Hijacking is not that big a concern, and the cost of human pilots isn't that great (compared to fuel and capital costs).

Also, if you centralized things on the ground, you'd create a big target - come get 1000 planes with one hijacking.

rajacombinator 11y ago ↗

The main advantages would be on the cost side. Obv removing the pilots. Also removing all cockpit gear which is probably costly. And that space could then be used for additional seating.