# For the 1st time in history an aircraft takes over in an emergency and lands safely **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [December 23, 2025, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-the-1st-time-in-history-an-aircraft-takes-over-in-an-emergency-and-lands-safely/1025993 "2025-12-23T21:49:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![mixdenny](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mixdenny/32/2962_2.png) [@mixdenny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mixdenny)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2025, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-the-1st-time-in-history-an-aircraft-takes-over-in-an-emergency-and-lands-safely/1025993/1 "2025-12-23T21:49:51Z")
Wow. The pilots were actually OK but decided to let the automatic system finish it’s task. > **[Airplane lands itself after in-flight emergency, in a first for aviation...](https://www.cnn.com/2025/12/23/us/airplane-lands-itself-first-aviation-automation)** > > An airplane has, for the first time, automatically landed itself after an in-flight emergency, according to the system’s manufacturer. ---
**Author:** ![dolphinboy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dolphinboy/32/330_2.png) [@dolphinboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dolphinboy)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2025, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-the-1st-time-in-history-an-aircraft-takes-over-in-an-emergency-and-lands-safely/1025993/2 "2025-12-23T22:00:04Z")
It’s nice that it worked, but what if it hadn’t? The passengers never signed up to be guinea pigs. IMO, the pilots should have landed it. ---
**Author:** ![mixdenny](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mixdenny/32/2962_2.png) [@mixdenny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mixdenny)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2025, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-the-1st-time-in-history-an-aircraft-takes-over-in-an-emergency-and-lands-safely/1025993/3 "2025-12-23T22:00:59Z")
I think it was just the two pilots on board. ---
**Author:** ![dolphinboy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dolphinboy/32/330_2.png) [@dolphinboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dolphinboy)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2025, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-the-1st-time-in-history-an-aircraft-takes-over-in-an-emergency-and-lands-safely/1025993/4 "2025-12-23T22:13:19Z")
Really? Nobody tried this before during testing? ---
**Author:** ![eburacum45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eburacum45/32/8690_2.png) [@eburacum45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eburacum45)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2025, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-the-1st-time-in-history-an-aircraft-takes-over-in-an-emergency-and-lands-safely/1025993/5 "2025-12-23T22:18:39Z")
Testing isn’t really an emergency situation. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2025, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-the-1st-time-in-history-an-aircraft-takes-over-in-an-emergency-and-lands-safely/1025993/6 "2025-12-23T22:24:29Z")
> [@dolphinboy](#): > > The passengers never signed up to be guinea pigs. IMO, the pilots should have landed it. So the passengers should be guinea pigs to see whether the pilots get it right, instead? ---
**Author:** ![dolphinboy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dolphinboy/32/330_2.png) [@dolphinboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dolphinboy)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2025, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-the-1st-time-in-history-an-aircraft-takes-over-in-an-emergency-and-lands-safely/1025993/7 "2025-12-23T22:29:01Z")
Pilots are fully trained to land a plane safely. I would trust a certified pilot before an automated system that has never been used to land passengers before. ---
**Author:** ![markn\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@markn\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/markn_1)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2025, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-the-1st-time-in-history-an-aircraft-takes-over-in-an-emergency-and-lands-safely/1025993/8 "2025-12-23T22:33:02Z")
Are you reading a different article than I am? There were no passengers on this flight. > the Autoland system automatically engaged during a flight from Aspen with no passengers on board. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2025, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-the-1st-time-in-history-an-aircraft-takes-over-in-an-emergency-and-lands-safely/1025993/9 "2025-12-23T22:35:14Z")
But the vast majority of pilots have never landed in an actual emergency, either. The difference is, when one human pilot does it, that gives one human experience, but when an automated system does it, all airplane automated systems can gain from the experience. ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2025, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-the-1st-time-in-history-an-aircraft-takes-over-in-an-emergency-and-lands-safely/1025993/10 "2025-12-24T00:29:56Z")
> [@dolphinboy](#): > > Pilots are fully trained to land a plane safely. I would trust a certified pilot before an automated system that has never been used to land passengers before. So one way to look at it, based on the linked article, is that the pilots found themselves in an emergency situation and used their experience and judgement to allow the Autoland to continue because there were too many unpredictable variables in that situation for them to safely change course. The article doesn’t go into the details, but taken at face value, I can’t say it was the wrong call. I think it’s pretty cool. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2025, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-the-1st-time-in-history-an-aircraft-takes-over-in-an-emergency-and-lands-safely/1025993/11 "2025-12-24T15:35:20Z")
Surely it provides for a pilot to take over if needed. ---
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2025, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-the-1st-time-in-history-an-aircraft-takes-over-in-an-emergency-and-lands-safely/1025993/12 "2025-12-24T15:40:02Z")
When I read the title I thought this thread was going to be about one of those ‘AI slop’ videos. For some reason I keep getting emergency landing AI vids in my Facebook feed-- a commercial jet has an engine on fire and is plummeting toward the ground. Things look awful grim-- but somehow it always seems to land on a highway or open field with minimal damage-- sometimes it even bounces a little, once or twice, then comes to a short stop. The airline industry must have switched from aluminum to rubber as a primary mainframe material, and I applaud their innovation.