{"id":153836,"date":"2025-12-01T10:25:52","date_gmt":"2025-12-01T16:25:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/?p=153836"},"modified":"2025-12-01T10:25:54","modified_gmt":"2025-12-01T16:25:54","slug":"dana-criswell-ive-flown-autoland-jets-teslas-full-self-driving-still-needs-a-fully-awake-pilot","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/dana-criswell-ive-flown-autoland-jets-teslas-full-self-driving-still-needs-a-fully-awake-pilot\/","title":{"rendered":"Dana Criswell: \u201cI\u2019ve Flown Autoland Jets. Tesla\u2019s Full Self-Driving Still Needs a Fully Awake Pilot\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
I\u2019ve spent more than 18,000 hours in the cockpit of advanced airliners, managing autopilots that, when programmed correctly, can literally land the airplane by themselves. I\u2019ve seen the best of what automation can do. I\u2019ve also spent a career training for the day it doesn\u2019t.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That\u2019s why Tesla<\/strong>\u2019s Full Self-Driving<\/strong> (Supervised) data catches my eye. Their numbers say FSD miles see far fewer crashes per mile than the average U.S. driver. If that holds up, it\u2019s impressive. It\u2019s exactly the kind of safety gain good automation can bring, and why I want a Tesla, today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But in aviation we learned a long time ago: automation is a tool, not a magic trick. The question isn\u2019t just, \u201cIs it usually safer?\u201d It\u2019s, \u201cWhat happens in the rare moments when it fails, and is the human still in the loop enough to save the day?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In a modern jet, the autopilot can fly an approach in zero visibility and roll us onto the runway centerline. But any pilot who trusts it blindly is a hazard. We\u2019re trained to monitor, cross-check, and be ready to click off the automation in a heartbeat. We brief what we\u2019ll do if the autoland goes wrong. We memorize the failures. We practice taking over.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That\u2019s where I worry about \u201cself-driving cars.\u201d Their marketing leans heavily on the promise of \u201cFull Self-Driving.\u201d Their stats show millions of miles between major collisions, but they\u2019re based on Tesla\u2019s own definitions and their own telemetry. At the same time, federal safety investigators are looking at serious crashes where these systems were in use and the human wasn\u2019t ready\u2014or wasn\u2019t paying attention. Those accidents are not Tesla\u2019s fault if the \u201cpilot\u201d isn\u2019t paying attention; just like in an airplane, it\u2019s the pilot\u2019s responsibility to expect the failure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In my world, you don\u2019t get to grade your own emergency drills and call it \u201cproven safe.\u201d Independent regulators and accident investigators tear apart every incident. Data is shared, not hoarded. Procedures change when hard lessons are learned. That doesn\u2019t mean politicians design the autopilot; it means the consumers demand truth and transparency.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As a conservative, I don\u2019t want Washington bureaucrats trying to code driver-assist systems. They\u2019re barely qualified to run a DMV, much less an AI program. But I do expect one thing from any company asking the public to trust their automation with human lives: brutal honesty.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Let Tesla innovate. Don\u2019t ban the tech because it makes some people nervous. Don\u2019t strangle it with precautionary red tape. At the same time, demand truthful reporting from all automakers: crashes, miles driven, system status at the time, and what the human was doing. And make the labeling honest: as of now, this is driver assistance, not a robotic chauffeur.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If Tesla\u2019s safety claims hold up under that kind of scrutiny, regulators should step aside and let the market and insurers sort out the rest. If the numbers don\u2019t hold up, then the problem isn\u2019t \u201ctoo little government,\u201d it\u2019s a company overselling its automation and training its customers into complacency.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I\u2019ve watched automation save lives. I\u2019ve also seen where it leads when people stop paying attention. FSD is the future\u2014but for now, it still needs a fully awake pilot behind the wheel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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