Jeff;
Interesting thought. The air control infrastructure would have to be updated somewhat before this could be implemented. Also, more airports would require updates to be able to auto-land aircraft. And all the commercial aircraft (at least, any that fly to/in the US) would have to be updated. All in all, not an insignificant expense; but it could be done. I believe the technology exists. We can do auto-lands on aircraft carriers, for crying out loud, we ought to be able to land on a 10,000' runway.
Later,
Don Harrington
Sr. Systems Analyst
Facilities Applications Support
Shared Services Group
The Boeing Company
P.O. Box 3707 M/C 6C-AK
Seattle, WA 98124-2207
(v) 425-234-1145 (f) 425-234-0464 (p) 206-797-6360
The opinions expressed in this e-mail reflect those of the sender. They do not necessarily reflect the opinions of The Boeing Company unless specifically stated otherwise.
-----Original Message-----
From: VANCE,JEFF (HP-Cupertino,ex1) [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
Sent: Friday, September 14, 2001 1:12 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: [HP3000-L] OT: "safe mode" for commercial aircraft
Hi all,
http://www.zdnet.com/anchordesk/stories/story/0,10738,2812283,00.html
ZDNet has an article proposing a way to make hijacking impossible.
Here is a quote:
...
"(Install) 'safe mode' panic buttons that put the plane on forced autopilot
that
cannot be overridden, except in special circumstances," Steve says. He'd
have them
mounted in the cockpit, one for each side, with additional optional buttons
in crew
areas on each side of the plane in both the forward and aft cabins."
"Once a plane is in safe mode it would randomly select one of the 10 nearest
airports
capable of accommodating that plane type, and automatically land the
aircraft there.
"This technique works because you take both the pilots and the terrorists
out of a
control situation," he explains. "A terrorist can no longer threaten the
pilot to
'Do this or I will kill people' because the terrorist knows that the pilot
can't
accommodate the demand no matter what."
...
What are your thoughts?
Jeff Vance
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