There is a push by the transportation businesses to allow for single-crew cockpits in planes and trains, like what is allowed in commercial trucking. But is the risk the same across all three modes of transportation? Take the worst-case scenario you can reasonably identify in all three (3) modes and ask… what layers of protection would allow the train or plane to recover safely should the single crew member make an error or, worst, become incapacitated. A study of commercial pilots in the UK estimated that pilots become incapacitated 0.25% of flights.
So looking at the consequences of a single crew cockpit becoming incapacitated, using the largest passenger plane numbers, is society ready to accept an incapacitation rate of 0.25%?
