Landing without pilots?

[club_med]

The article can be found here

Richard Bloom, who studies air terrorism at the Prescott, Arizona, campus of Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, said the remote-control technology might head off unsophisticated hijackers or even deranged passengers. But Mr. Bloom warned that it would do little against sophisticated and determined enemies, whose creativity always seems to overcome technological obstacles.

Could this technology create a possible increase in air safety and a reduction in air-terrorism, or are we simply creating new targets of terrorism?.

Personally I think this is a very interesting idea, but the thought of it being abused and misused (by terrorists) is shocking.

Yet again it could be a lifesaver in the case of on-board accidents that maim the crew.

What do you people think?.

[RustyGT]

CM
My understanding [could be wrong] of late model aircraft is that they can land themselves, in IFR conditions in controlled airspace.

Which had me convinced at the time of S11, that those planes were being deliberately flown by someone, who knew what they were doing. Subsequent evidence confirmed this.

My concern is the easy access gained to the cockpit, and that no alarm was able to be raised to Flight Control on the ground.

Or for that matter that no alarm was raised on the ground when these planes came back to unusal locations on radar.

ChrsR.

[daveleau]

I'm with you CM. I think it is a very intriuging idea. I can also see the tragic results if that kind of control was gained by terrorsits. They wouldn't even have to be on the planes to hijack them.