Always trying to find ways to save money in aviation operations, airlines have been lobbying the FAA to change regulations from two pilots to one in the cockpit.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/one-pilot-in-cockpit-staffing-shortage-faa-part-121/

The airline pilots uniions are going to fight as much as possbile to prevent this, as will consumer groups.  I doubt this will happen short term, as there is plenty of evidence to show that this is a bad idea.  Long term, anything is possible given that human idiocy is limitless.

There is no possible way

freight trains had 7 crew not long ago. freight  airlines will get 1 pilot crews soon...if all goes well you know the rest

7 not long ago? lol

And replace you with a chimp.

Industry is already ready to field them for certain situations this next year or two:

https://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/air-transport/2022-07-13/digital-copilot-approach-cuts-pilot-workload-say-oems

The military has been working towards this for years and is not far off from a viable R2D2.  Autonomous aircraft are already a reality; that's nothing new, but a compatible single pilot assistant is what's being pushed.  

https://www.military.com/dodbuzz/2019/03/14/r2-d2-cockpit-air-force-testing-skyborg-ai-program.html

going to happen. never as in never ever

I think I saw a newspaper clip that read something like you about flying machines sometime around 1902.

You note that "there is plenty of evidence." Could you cite a study that shows this is the case? Or are you just bloviating?

another freak show emerges from team 46!

there is no pilot shortage. there are just a lot of bullsh*t jobs that don't really have to be done. so nobody carea if those seats go unfilled. government says gotta be two on an airliner and that costs the bosses money that could be used for that third yacht they been a-wantin'. so one up front and wall-e doin' the actual drivin' be gon' happen son's they kin git it wired up and the paid reg-a-lators kin write the rulebook on it. bet. 

forty large sign on bonuses and premium paid for ot. somebody wants those slots filled bro

according to the morons on JH, we'll be going to 0 pilots real soon.

How can anyone believe that they could move to one pilot? That is as ridiculous as saying they could get rid of the navigator. People will just not stand for it. 

how aircraft are full of redundancies and backups. a plane full of people will never have just one pilot. automation cannot replace one pilot when you only have one to start with. certain functions can be replaced by automation but not all of them

You all do realize that before the pandemic (when airline pilots were more current) the majority of landings done on any wide-body airliner (for those of you that could afford to fly overseas... I know, most of you helicopter guys can't) that they were almost COMPLETLY automated landings to touchdown?  

Made friends with a long-time United captain who came on ADOS orders while I was still active duty in 2008 and he said it's in their SOP/GOM that the pilot flying is not allowed to take the controls unless something falls out of parameter.  He said's it's been that way since the 90's.    

Planes have been landing themselves without pilots for a while folks.  And better than most pilots at that...  

in a while

Old industry joke:  Pilot writes up in aircraft log :  Aircraft lands hard in autoland mode! 

                            Mechanic logs fix in aircraft log :  This aircraft not equipped with autoland .  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V0OJ-rPDXNs

For you non-instrument types here's a good explanation too

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OwbTq_4-jGg

I stand corrected, it's not just wide-boy aircraft that do it:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tyvazVbPiE0

Of course there are plenty of other "auto-land" capable out there too (helicopter and airplane).  Was just making the point that passenger aircraft have been doing "auto-landing" with no pilot flying the aircraft for many years.

Old news

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VxpUb3ckptw

Small, piston GA aircraft can do it now (been able for about 3-4 years now)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d-ruFmgTpqA

started 54 years ago.

Avn Caravelle then BAE Trident.....

It's taken a while for it to become reliable, but most people have no idea that we had unmanned jet drones in Vietnam: Developed before the war in 1960.  They brought back recon footage (and were used as part of the Son Tay helicopter raid)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=egd4gSoZb4Q

I saw a helicopter drone from Vietnam in a museum... found footage of it here.  1967 (and yet we still use 2 pilots in the Army):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LdkquNxxp2o

We've been perfecting it for many years...

pilots is great insurance as long as they work together.

military used a lot of them in SEA.

Here's a full discussion about the issue:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uafWhCv-Xd4

Most large commercial jets can already land themselves so if the pilot becomes incapacitated, guess what... it just lands itself.  The flight attendant just hits the "autoland" button like in this video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PiGkzgfR_c0

Aircraft will automatically change squawk to 7700, chooses safest MSA, safest routing based on XM weather, then executes full instrument approach to touchdown.  Does all flap settings and landing gear at correct Vmin's.  Probably better than most pilots.

Won't take much to give regional jets/props this type of ability.  Would save them WAY more money to install these types of systems once vs years of whiney pilots asking for more money and less work.  

hit the auto land button instead of the flight attendant lol

Civilian and military pilots landing at wrong airports:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_t0dBZTYR4g

Pilots falling asleep:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZBlvkK8saLU

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TMMzt04hirQ

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ki9RK_JDtIg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OZMWUg22Lyw (5 different sets in this one)

Gear up landings?  Overshooting runway?  Undershooting runway?  There's way more risk with human flight. 

An automated flight will probably be better than our current situation!

it to. machines fail too. that's one reason why there's two pilots up front bro

As much as I don't like it, the V-280 was designed to be autonomous:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1gSCIosIU6I

doesn't mean it's going to happen bro

Teslas quit driving under trucks we can talk.

Baby steps.

Don't some EMS companies fly single pilot IFR? If it works for them a 737 ought to be legal for the same thing.