Commercial aviation: the legal travails of automation , future shock and the zen of machine take over

Abstract

This is a study of the problems at a human level vis a vis automation in the operation of Aviation law. The article addresses the various legal issues concerning automation in the context of pilot, airport tower managers, design and maintenance management, passenger ticketing, and cargo handling. Case laws and international conventions are discussed along with social paradigm of the more generic position of the entire field of automation and man’s inability to cope with reference to Alvin Toffler’s “Future shock”. The question how much of automation is a balance with comfort levels and the probability of risk avoidance in the aviation industry. Negligence concepts both in warranty and torts are still evolving and remains in limbo at the level of international conventions. Future shock is revisited and man’s possible redundancy in the face of automation is questioned. The article crescendos to the future of automation and into the Zen of machine takeover and leaves many questions still unanswered.