I don't know whether this is just another conspiracy theory, but some people believe that some recent aeroplane crashes have been caused by them being taken over by remote control devices from the ground.

Apparently according to aviation experts, it is now possible to take over the control of most aircraft from the ground.

I find this a little scary if true and if there was any possibility of this then it would be covered up by the airlines, aviation authorities and governments. There would be sudden reduction in the number of people booking flights, until some reassurance had been provided, that it could not happen.

It is not just the crashes that have been reported, but there have also been reports of flightcrew losing control over aircrafts for short periods or having unexplained problems.

Or it could just be that the modern generation of aircraft with a large number of computers/electronics, are being kept in service for too long. We all know that cars with all the modern electronics start to fail after a period, even if the mechanics are in working oder.

Apparently according to aviation experts, it is now possible to take over the control of most aircraft from the ground.

 

I find this a little scary if true and if there was any possibility of this then it would be covered up by the airlines, aviation authorities and governments. There would be sudden reduction in the number of people booking flights, until some reassurance had been provided, that it could not happen.

 

I am assuming that their computers can be hacked as with any other and it is more than a little scary, IMHO !

I am assuming that their computers can be hacked as with any other and it is more than a little scary, IMHO !

But if this was something that was happening, would there not be more crashes ?

Why target one aircraft in the area at the time, when there could be dozens of flights in the same area at the same time ?

I think the computer/electronics failures in a more likely explanation and that is just as scary, as there could be aircraft in service which have old computers/electronics onboard. Perhaps these aircraft should be totally refurbished with new technology every say 10 years and not kept in service for up to 30 years.

It would be interesting to know the age of the aircraft and their service history. Apparently with the MH370 crash in the Pacific, the blackbox flight recorder would not have been working, because according to the service record, the battery had not been changed since December 2012 and would have been dead. So even if they find it, they may still not know what happened.

Apparently the German plane had been in service for 24 years, Uncle B. The black box, I see they are reporting, has been damaged - I understood those to be indestructible !

Apparently the German plane had been in service for 24 years, Uncle B. The black box, I see they are reporting, has been damaged - I understood those to be indestructible !

Are airlines saving money on maintenance to keep the ticket prices lower ? There is so much competition these days and the industry is not that profitable. There has been a period of airlines going bust and being taken over.

The aircraft that have built over the last 30 years or so, rely much more on technology to keep them in the air. Perhaps they need to have much more maintenance carried out on them and they should not rely too much in diagnostic checks by some laptop connected to a port.

No doubt that the aviation authorities/governments will just look at the safety stats, which shows that aviation is still safer than other methods of transport and not look to add costs to a struggling industry.

There is also the the question of may day calls, there should be a live video feed from the cockpit to ground control during the whole flight, as the black box is not reliable enough and has to be found.

Apparently according to aviation experts, it is now possible to take over the control of most aircraft from the ground.

It is not possible to take over an airliner remotely from the ground, and no genuine aviation expert would claim that it is. Perhaps what they are claiming is that it would be possible to design an aircraft that could be controlled from the ground - which it probably would, in theory. But no actual, real world civil aircraft are built this way.

Aviation is not merely safer than any other means of travel, it is safer than it has ever been in the past. Last year was actually the safest year ever in terms of the number of fatal CA accidents, although because there were two disasters with very high death tolls (MH370 and MH17) it was only the 24th-safest in terms of total fatalities. Although MH17 is included as an "accident" I think that's a stretch since it's pretty obvious that it was shot down. Even assuming the shooting was accidental, I don't think we can fairly draw adverse conclusions about the safety of airliners from the fact that they can't withstand being hit by missiles.

Still, we didn't get to this point by being complacent, and I wouldn't advise that we start being complacent now.

Apparently it is possible to take control of an aircraft with just an android phone.

This is old news http://edition.cnn.com/2013/04/11/tech/mobile/phone-hijack-plane/

This is what I have just read. Sudden loss of air pressure or smoke on the flight deck could have incapacitated the pilots. This would explain their failure to communicate. French air traffic control tried to make contact with the pilots without response, however the pilots could have been concentrating on the terrible problem as first priority. If the pilots were unconscious they cannot initiate a decent. The airliner would continue on it's course at altitude under it's flight control system. It is possible the pilots remained conscious enough to start a decent but they would also have diverted more than the slight turn performed by the jet.

So, the theory of computer malfunction is plausible.

live video feeds....what...

pray tell me how the hell are you going to get that data streamed real time to the ground?

the only method would be by the satellite phone system

and that's got nowhere near the required data speed nor the capacity

and anyway, how the hell can that stop these disasters happening.....

live video feeds....what...

 

 

pray tell me how the hell are you going to get that data streamed real time to the ground?

the only method would be by the satellite phone system

and that's got nowhere near the required data speed nor the capacity

 

 

and anyway, how the hell can that stop these disasters happening.....

We are discussing what happened and finding out why. Knowing this information can be put to preventing such disasters. As it stands, too many unanswered questions.

A bit of light reading and it's some time ago. I expect they're coming on in leaps and bounds with the tech now.

http://www.wired.com/2011/06/ff_blackboxes/

An update http://www.wired.com/2015/03/germanwings-flight-9525-black-boxes/

If this is true, what was the situation with the other pilot.

heart attack me thinks cnn now

I wonder why then the plane did not continue flying at altitude and following the flight computer navigation system.

1 minute into level flight - prob not even set yet.

falls on the yoke/joystick nudges it..

Apparently it is possible to take control of an aircraft with just an android phone.

 

This is old news http://edition.cnn.com/2013/04/11/tech/mobile/phone-hijack-plane/

A theoretical, undemonstrated exploit. Seriously, the media's aviation reporting is atrocious, it really is.

Well, we await the conclusion but a few years back when you could ask to go into the cockpit, I took my son in on a flight and we asked about the computer system and the Captain explained they set it themselves and the plane is basically flying itself. Another flight I was on within the last five years the Captain explained over the sound system this particular plane was programmed to land itself. I remember the landing being very smooth.

I sign off thinking of all those who lost their lives in this terrible tragedy.

Well, we await the conclusion but a few years back when you could ask to go into the cockpit, I took my son in on a flight and we asked about the computer system and the Captain explained they set it themselves and the plane is basically flying itself. Another flight I was on within the last five years the Captain explained over the sound system this particular plane was programmed to land itself. I remember the landing being very smooth.

 

I sign off thinking of all those who lost their lives in this terrible tragedy.

Yes, there's a lot of automation - particularly for the "grunt work". A human pilot could fly a plane across the Atlantic, of course, but it would be tedious and there are far more useful things he or she can be doing with his or her time. Autolands are possible at most major airports and are generally used in poor visibility - probably 90% of the landings you've experienced have been flown manually, since most heavy iron pilots I've spoken to hate doing them because, ironically, they're a lot of work. But none of these systems are designed to connect up to remote control devices. Not saying it couldn't be done, of course, but no-one's bringing down a jetliner with their Samsung Galaxy any time soon.

I agree, of course, about the tragedy. This is the important thing to remember.

The latest from the Germanwings crash is that it appears the co-pilot deliberately crashed the plane.

He took over the plane from the captain,

who left the flightdeck for whatever reason

and then deliberately started to put the plane into descent,

refusing to let the captain back into the flightdeck.

or had a medical episode.

dx

or had a medical episode.

 

 

dx

Don't know. Apparently the experts say it was a deliberate act because he had to take it off auto pilot and then change the controls to be make the plane descend.

its mighty weird

just doesn't make sense..

those bit of wood with red paint at the candle sites say it all

WHY?

dx

http://home.bt.com/news/world-news/chiefs-shock-at-deliberate-crash-11363971113986

I believe the protocol should always be when the pilot or co pilot leaves the cockpit at least one member of the flight crew goes into the cabin and waits for the return of the pilot.

at least, maybe 2 or an air mashal. but even then they cld poss be overpowered.

terrible.

maybe (probably) the same thing happened re mh370. in the news eg http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/aviation/11496988/Germanwings-investigation-Links-with-other-crashes-probed.html

A worrying report Ford. Understanding the basics of aero dynamics allows us to feel safe to fly in a tin can in the sky. What we don't allow for is deliberate

interference to cause harm to all those on board. There should be no time wasted to implement measures to prevent rogue pilots

causing catastrophe.