Proposal to Remove Pilots from the Flight Deck is Dangerous

You’re flying 34,000 feet over the Atlantic, finally taking that dream trip to Europe. You’re relaxed, considering reading the book you brought or watching that movie you never got around to seeing. Then you hear a commotion and realize there is an issue with the flight.

Your flight attendants shout safety directions and ask passengers to return to their seats and buckle up. Safety notification lights illuminate. Then, your mind zeroes into who is at the plane’s controls. Your assumption would be that two pilots are at the helm, working together to resolve the issue. But what if only one pilot was on the flight deck? Would your anxiety level increase?

The fact is, if some in the air travel industry have their way, fliers may no longer be able to count on that two-pilot assumption.

Already, airplane manufacturer Airbus is pushing to allow one pilot to rest while the other flies during the cruise portion of a flight, something the European version of the FAA is unnecessarily considering as it finishes its evaluation of the proposal this summer. The ripple effects and global implications of permitting such a change to operating procedures are significant.

There’s a reason — many reasons, actually — why two pilots are essential at all times.

Moving to a single pilot, even for just part of a flight, would upend decades of aviation safety standards that make flying the safest mode of transportation. It would create a dangerous precedent, increase pressure on U.S. regulators to follow suit, and lead both down a slippery slope to one day allow for a single pilot on the flight deck at all times.

All this talk comes at a time when air travel, near misses and alarming incidents of airplane manufacturing and maintenance defects are all on the rise.

As president of the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA), the world’s largest airline pilot union, I represent more than 78,000 airline pilots in the United States and Canada. My colleagues and I are intimately aware that it takes two pilots at the controls at all times to ensure a safe flight — a fact that’s backed up by more than a decade’s worth of research by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). Furthermore, a surveycommissioned by ALPA shows nearly 80% of U.S. adults say remotely operated planes would make them feel less safe flying, and a significant majority say they would never feel comfortable flying without two pilots on the flight deck.

Single pilot proposals unnecessarily gamble with air safety and are only in play because of a push for more profit. On long-haul flights, airlines would reduce costs by eliminating the need for more than two pilots, claiming that this rotation allows for rest periods. But that can be accomplished in other ways, like implementing proper rest requirements for flight crews. The Airbus proposal represents an extreme approach.

The question to be asked is: Will any of this make air travel safer? As an airline pilot who has thousands of hours over the Atlantic, I can tell you the answer is decidedly no.

When an emergency strikes, pilots must act immediately, making split-second decisions and working together to avert disaster. There simply isn’t enough time to wait for a second pilot to be woken up and make their way to the flight deck.

In every imaginable scenario, from engine failures to unruly passengers, a team of at least two qualified, well trained and rested pilots working together on the flight deck has saved lives — time and again. Two pilots at the controls work together to divide responsibilities and tasks during all stages of flight. This includes operating the aircraft, monitoring flight operations and weather, managing automated tools, and correcting errors that can occur in a complex and dynamic work environment.

It doesn’t take 28 years of experience commercial jets to know this is true. All of us know intuitively that there is no way one person in such a high stakes job can be better than two.

ALPA has always welcomed and helped to implement new technology that maintains or improves aviation safety and security. But the recent global technology outage should serve as a reminder of what happens when critical systems fail and there is no back up. Relying exclusively on technology and automation to the point of pulling pilots off the flight deck is a step too far and introduces unnecessary safety risks.

Airbus’ CEO of Commercial Aircraft, Christian Scherer, an advocate for operating flights with a single pilot or even without pilots, ironically made this argument very effectively when he said the system would be one “bad oyster” away from incapacitation during single-pilot operations. My feelings are more closely aligned with National Transportation Safety Board Chair Jennifer Homendy, who has noted the importance of two pilots, pointing to an averted disaster last year in Austin during a near-miss incident.

U.S. air safety regulations are the gold standard worldwide for a reason. The Airbus proposal being considered across the pond is a threat to the safety of not just Europe’s air system, but our own. This is bad idea that must be stopped before it gains a foothold. Any plan to reduce the number of pilots on the flight deck — in any shape or form — simply cannot be allowed to happen.

When disaster strikes at 34,000 feet, every second counts. With two highly trained, qualified pilots at the controls, you can rest assured that every flight is in good hands.

Capt. Jason Ambrosi is the 12th president of the Air Line Pilots Association, International, which is the world’s largest airline pilot union representing more than 78,000 airline pilots in the United States and Canada.

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