• Lemonade [none/use name]@hexbear.net
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      2 days ago

      If a plane was flown start to finish without software there would be thousands of crashes each year. What do you think autopilot is? Do you expect pilots to fly using maps and compasses?

      • blunder [he/him]@hexbear.net
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        1 day ago

        I’m partially kidding but partially not. Ever since it was revealed that the 737 MAX 8 came with software that the pilots were not briefed on at all because it was supposed to be irrelevant, and then it turned out that the software just pointed the nose at the ground, I’m incredibly skeptical of what else we don’t know about.

        If I recall correctly, in the MAX 8’s case, they added the nose-pointing “feature” because the engines are too big for the body of that plane, so they slapped it on instead of properly engineering a functional aircraft.

        I don’t recall anyone from Boeing going to prison or even losing their job for killing 346 people, so if there are no repercussions to using poorly-tested software to compensate for poor engineering resulting in hundreds of deaths… it greatly hurts my confidence in modern jet manufacture. I know the 320 is not a new airframe like the MAX 8 was but still.

      • SchillMenaker [he/him]@hexbear.net
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        1 day ago

        Seeing as you never got an answer, the person you were responding to was being wildly sarcastic. He definitely doesn’t think that planes should be hand-flown. He’s presenting the version of a stupid opinion like “I have an immune system so I don’t need medicine” or “Kids in my day never needed car seats or seat belts” in reference to the use of flight software/automation.