In the wake of recent Germanwings flight 9525 crash, German air traffic control authority has expressed the need for remote control of aircrafts.
At a press conference on April 15, head of the Deutsche Flugsicherung air traffic control authority, Dieter Scheurle, urged the aviation industry to develop a system that would enable the on-ground staff to remotely command the aircrafts. “We have to think past today’s technology,” he said, adding that, “I wouldn’t say it’s the simplest solution though.”
However, according to German pilots’ union Vereinigung Cockpit, such a system would be prone to misuse as well. The union spokesperson Markus Wahl said, “We also have to ask whether such a solution would really be an improvement, after all it’s the pilots who are sitting in the cockpit and they’re the ones with all the information.”