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Mastering automation is a foundational skill required to safely operate any modern state-of-the-art aircraft. Under normal circumstances, automation reduces workload, creates efficiencies, and, to a fault, is highly dependable. On rare occasions, these highly reliable systems present pilots with an unexpected, obscure, or highly complex scenario that if mismanaged may quickly deteriorate and jeopardize the safety of flight. The article focuses on situations to where the human was unable to work with or override an autonomous system, resulting in lost of craft and life. This is a situation that will continue to rise in significance as we transition to more autonomy in our lives. We must understand the machines as we understand ourselves and others involved in our lives.

A good pair to my previous post - a nice summary of what needs to happen for electric propulsion in aviation. Four concepts are discussed: air taxis, 20-passenger commuter aircrafts, 50-passenger regional jets and 150-passenger, single-aisle 737 class aircraft.

To me this is how leadership leads - The current UN plans want at least 10% of fuel used in global aviation to be sustainable by 2030. The head of Rolls Royce, manufacturer of aircraft engines, feels the industry needs to move quicker. He has committed to making sure their Trent engine can run purely on sustainable fuel by 2023. And Shell has committed to increasing their production tenfold by 2025.

The segments mated briefly on Friday are codenamed B4 (the Super Heavy booster) and Ship 20 (the Starship upper-stage). The pair won't launch until they have a licence from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). The government agency is currently conducting an environmental review that will invite at some point a 30-day public consultation. So, the maiden orbital outing is still some way off. But Mr Musk is very keen that it should happen well before the end of the year. He described seeing the brief mating of the segments on Friday as a "dream come true". He has to make Starbase work, everything else is dependent on it. Never good to have all your eggs in one basket.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is evaluating Space Exploration Technologies Corporation's (SpaceX) Starship/Super Heavy program, in particular a proposal to operate the Starship/Super Heavy launch vehicle at its existing Boca Chica Launch Site in Cameron County, Texas and conduct launches originating from this site. This could be real trouble for Musk. If the FAA makes his life difficult, how will he react?

An all-electric plane capable of carrying 100 people may be available within six years, significantly accelerating the timeline for the introduction of a non-kerosene powered commercial airliner. U.S. startup Wright Electric Inc. plans to retrofit electric motors into a BAe 146 regional aircraft, replacing its four jet engines and transforming it into a zero-emissions model. The planes will have a range of about one hour or 460 miles. Zero emissions would be a game-changer for the airline industry, and this timing would make the company first to market. The converted planes would be suited to linking close city pairs such as New York and Boston, Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo and many European locations currently served by regional jets.

ZeroAvia announced a development collaboration with Alaska Air Group, the parent company of Alaska Airlines, for a hydrogen-electric powertrain capable of flying 76-seat regional aircraft in excess of 500 NM. Alaska is also joining the list of top investors for the company, alongside a fellow Seattle-based Amazon Climate Pledge Fund and Bill Gates's Breakthrough Energy Ventures. Alaska Airlines has also secured options for up to 50 kits to begin converting its regional aircraft to hydrogen-electric power through ZeroAvia's zero-emission powertrain. Zero emission would be a huge step, and nice to see Bezos and Gates both involved.