Editor's Log: 03/06

The Dumbest Thing
It’s no secret that pilots are human. While the advances in technology and increasing number of applications for unmanned aerial vehicles, or UAVs, may eventually reduce our numbers, the overall impact on safety will probably not improve measurably until humans are completely removed from the equation. This means a totally automated—and thoroughly debugged—set of protocols for the design, engineering, manufacture and operation of UAVs wherein humans are not allowed to influence any aspect. Until then, aircraft will still crash as a result of human error, regardless of the phase of UAV development or operation in which that mistake is made.

In the meantime, we...