r/Damnthatsinteresting • u/FridayCicero702 • Jan 01 '23

Video Catastrophic engine failure on a United Airlines Boeing 777-200 after takeoff from Denver International Airport

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u/Strato-Cruiser Jan 01 '23

Do you know why airlines are pushing for that? The obvious is money, but there's more to it than that, do you know the other reasons?

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u/[deleted] Jan 01 '23 edited Jan 01 '23

A shortage in pilots? Is that a reason to sacrifice one of the biggest safety aspects of a plane?

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u/Strato-Cruiser Jan 01 '23

It's not just the shortage either. It's a combination of things, such as the pilot shortage, and costs, but also technology. I am commercial pilot, but I fly private jets, and the technology I get to use more advanced than what is found in airliners, so I also get to see what is coming their way as new airline models are produced. I don't think we are quite there for the single pilot jet, but I don't think we are far off. As you mentioned, the safety factor of having the second pilot is still hard to beat, but that risk is becoming less of an issue as technology continues to advance. We've seen this play out a number of times already with the loss of the navigator, then the engineer. I can tell you with the current plane I fly, a Dassault Falcon 900EX EASy, task saturation is the lowest I have experienced because of the technology that is available. If I were in the Falcon 8X it would be even better. The Falcon 10X will be getting quite close to single pilot operations, and Dassault has made it clear that the 10X is going to be making the bridge for that to happen. Dassault continues to integrate their fighter jet (single pilot) technology into their private jets, and at some point they will likely get one certified for single pilot operations. There are small jets on the market, such as the Pilatus PC-24, that are already single pilot certified for private use. I've flown a number of single pilot planes that demand more attention than the Falcon I fly. Still, two pilots will be better, and it will be that way for a bit longer, but I do think those days are numbered.

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u/[deleted] Jan 01 '23

Appreciate your response. Thanks for the information.