The technology could also prevent pilots from intentionally disabling a plane—the suspected cause of the EgyptAir Flight 990 crash.
That incident occurred in the Atlantic Ocean near Nantucket, Massachusetts, on October 31, 1999.
"Does it make sense for the pilot to shut both engines down on a two-engine plane?" asked Smolka, referring to the EgyptAir crash.
The Intelligent Flight Control System, he said, could prevent a pilot from making such an error, intentional or otherwise.
Pushing the System
So far, Smolka has test-flown a modified F-15 aircraft with an early version of the control system.
When errors are intentionally introduced, a few irregular motions are noticeable, he said, "but the airplane settles out pretty quickly."
However, the project has yet to really push the system with catastrophic failures that would normally result in a plane crash.
"You can do that in a simulator pretty easily, but in the actual airplane it's a little more difficult to do," he said.
"But at some point you do need to validate that the results you're getting in the simulator are the results you're going to get on an actual airplane," he added.
For now, however, the program lacks funding and prioritization to design, develop, and outfit planes with the technology.
Ultimately, dspite the occasional tragedy, Smolka said, commercial planes today are very reliable.
James Burin, director of technical programs for the Flight Safety Foundation in Alexandria, Virginia, said the technology would be most applicable to military aircraft, which have a greater risk of losing control.
"It is very rare for a commercial aircraft to have a malfunction of this type," he commented via email.
"The minimal decrease in risk this technology would provide to commercial aircraft is probably not worth the cost."
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