For almost as long as planes have been in the sky, aviators and manufacturers have worked to make flying a simple experience for pilots and a smooth one for passengers.
“Automated flight controls go back into the 1920s, and through World War II they had rudimentary autopilots,” Dr. Wiggins said. “The idea was that the automation would relieve the pilots of very routine flying and monitoring tasks and would allow them to focus on situational awareness and other monitoring duties they have to take care of.”
As those autopilot features grew more sophisticated through the 20th century, Dr. Wiggins said, flying also grew safer because the systems were able to detect problems more quickly and effectively than human pilots could. A person in the cockpit might not see a single needle move on a single gauge, but a computer can detect that kind of warning sign and send out a more noticeable alert....