It was sad to hear from the news that second modern cutting edge aircraft crash from the news. Ethiopian Airlines ET 302 is the second deadly crash of a Boeing 737 Max (served four months only) from Addis Ababa to Nairobi. First crash is Lion Air JT610 at East Java. Market confidence for newer aircraft inevitably means a safer aircraft being shaken.
Overall without doubt, 737 Max is much better than 737-800, carry more passenger and fuel efficiency. More than 300 Boeing 737-MAX planes are in operation and more than 5,000 have been ordered worldwide since 2017. It is the latest iteration of the 737, the world’s bestselling plane, ever more capable of flying autonomously.
Autonomy, however, can bring problems. It is notable that insurers considering driverless cars worry most about the period when highly autonomous vehicles will coexist with human drivers, the uncertain interface between human and artificial intelligence. Pilots worldwide were angered after the Lion Air crash that subtle software modifications to the MAX 8’s autopilot had not been fully communicated. Nor were they made the subject of mandatory pilot retraining. The new plane automatically compensates if it believes its angle puts it at a risk of stalling, a safety feature that worked in a slightly different way to that which 737 pilots were used to.
Maybe after this two incidents, airlines should consider full retraining of pilot for how to handle the brand new aircraft that is complete new and expect new way for handle. Without doubt, modern technology expect a new learning curve (and unlearn what you know), to make full use of the new system. It is particular so for this “Safety first” industry, since they are carry human live, no product.
Modern artificial intelligence (AI), deep learning, autonomous vehicles (driverless or auto pilot when in danger scenario or context is good intent, but need to backed with full process for introduce safety first and safety proof, include all the retraining that is necessary to make sure all the user and operator know in and out for how the system is work).
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