If You Believe the Hype, Pilots Should All Be Looking for Work

If You Believe the Hype, We Should All Be Looking for Work

AI is not yet ready to replace all humans in the flight deck

Chis Lutat at Safety Standdown — Chris Lutat, managing partner of Convergent Performance, a B777 captain, and co-author of “Automation Airmanship: 9 Principles for Operating Glass Cockpit in Aircraft”

By Chris Lutat • Expert opinion contributor

May 1, 2024

Several times a year, I am asked to join with other speakers to address aviation professionals, normally in the setting of an annual safety standdown or safety day. Inevitably, during these engagements, I am asked to comment on how the rapid pace of developing technology, specifically in aircraft automation and autonomy, will impact the future of cockpit crews and flight departments. It’s an interesting question and deserves a thoughtful answer since it gets to the very core of the flying profession: what’s required of pilots when it comes to contemporary airmanship?

For well over a decade, the arrival of uncrewed air vehicles, remotely piloted vehicles, drones, or whatever you want to call them has piqued the imagination of everyone involved in the aviation profession. Add to that the hype of AI as a threat to virtually every human-occupied position in aviation and you have an environment of unease and insecurity that is hard to escape, especially if you read our industry’s trade publications and listen to the news.

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Chris Lutat

Expert opinion contributor

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Chris Lutat is a graduate of the U.S. Coast Guard Academy and served the Coast Guard as a Search and Rescue Pilot and Instructor Pilot.

Prior to his designation as a Coast Guard aviator, Lutat served aboard the Coast Guard Cutter Evergreen as a Deck Watch Officer, Communications Officer and Boarding Officer. He served as a Falcon 20G “Guardian” Aircraft Commander and instructor and was among the initial cadre of U.S. Coast Guard human factors facilitators. He holds an Air Transport Pilot certificate and type ratings in several commercial aircraft, and currently serves as a Captain on the Boeing 777 for a large global airline, where he has served as a Check Airman, Instructor Pilot, and Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Aircrew Program Designee. He has been a pioneer in bringing advanced technology procedures, interfaces, crew resource management and airmanship to organizations around the world.

Lutat is a founding partner of Convergent Performance and led Convergent’s Advanced and Emerging Technology team for over fifteen years. In 2018 he was named the company’s Managing Partner. He has been guiding organizations of all sizes through the transition from legacy aircraft to advanced fleets through developing policies, procedures and practices associated with safe, smooth, efficient operation of advanced aircraft. Both his extensive field work and research have made him a popular speaker on the subject of human-machine interface, and he has addressed military and civilian audiences at a variety of forums around the world.

He is the co-author of “Automation Airmanship: Nine Principles for Operating Glass Cockpit Aircraft” (2013, McGraw-Hill Education). He lives in Stonington, CT with his wife Faith, and their dog “Fly”. He also volunteers as an advisor and coach for the Coast Guard Academy Flight Team, flying light aircraft with aspiring Coast Guard Academy Cadet aviators.

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