Fear of no pilots

I am not afraid of flying. The way I feel about flying could be described as appropriately respectful. On a bad day, this could even be stretched to slightly nervous.

I have all the classic symptoms of a person with a fear of flying, but instead of really bothering me, they just kind of buzz around in my head.

I always have the feeling that I am in my own disaster movie. As I watch the people queuing for check in or boarding the flight, I think of how they`re going to react when the plane falls apart. But then I tell myself to stop being silly and most of the anxiety goes away.

However, a news article on CNN yesterday got me all in a lather. Apparently, there is a realistic move towards creating planes that will fly without pilots.

I wouldn`t allow myself to be transported at high speed across the globe by a machine with no human intervention.

Georgina Guedes, editor, ITWeb Brainstorm

I`ve heard awful stories about people finding out that a woman piloted the aircraft on which they were travelling, and demanding to get off.

If I discovered that I was on a plane without a pilot, I would insist on being allowed to disembark. No matter what anyone told me about being silly, or computerist, I wouldn`t allow myself to be transported at high speed across the globe by a machine with no human intervention.

It`s kind of like when they decided to replace the people who collect cash at the exits of parking garages with those ridiculous payment machines. They took a system that worked and replaced it with stupid machines that arbitrarily refuse to accept coins and notes.

When there`s a problem, it can take half an hour to sort out. The security guards in the parking garage have no idea what they`re doing, so one will give you an instruction that the other refuses to accept - it`s a nightmare.

And, because there are people out there who will take any gap they`re given, it becomes necessary to post security guards at every exit to prevent people who haven`t paid for their parking slipping out in the wake of their more conscientious counterparts. Why not just give them a booth, and let them collect the money again?

I can imagine that on an airplane piloted by computer, it would become necessary to have a number of computer technicians on board to ensure the avionics and navigation systems are functioning. There would also probably have to be a trained pilot who could take over in case the technology failed.

I have yet to see an instance of failsafe technology. Therefore, I will not get on a plane that doesn`t provide me with the certainty of a human at the helm who is as determined to hang on to his life as I am to mine.