article_snippet: Technology that might have averted Alps tragedy by remotely seizing control of the plane has existed for years – but has been resisted by aviation industry, Technology that might have averted the Germanwings tragedy by remotely seizing control of the plane emerged last night .
article_snippet: Support for real-time monitoring of jets from the ground has stalled amid airline fears of the dangers of eliminating pilots and the possibilities of a so-called cyber-hijack by terrorists.
article_snippet: Unions representing pilots are also against the move.
article_snippet: The 9/11 attacks on the US, in which terrorists used hijacked aircraft as weapons, sparked calls for new systems to prevent a repeat of the atrocity.
article_snippet: Manufacturers in Europe and America have worked on ways of creating a ‘hijack-proof’ aircraft.
article_snippet: Sources at Boeing claimed at the time that the anti-hijack equipment could be fitted to planes all over the world by 2010.
article_snippet: But this has failed to happen amid safety concerns from pilots and airlines, and the technology remains unproven.
article_snippet: But the idea of flying a plane carrying hundreds of passengers without any human intervention continues to worry experts.
article_snippet: Britain’s Civil Aviation Authority said there was no remote control system currently available that could cope with navigating the country’s crowded skies.
article_snippet: A spokesman added: ‘There are companies working on it, but the technology doesn’t exist in a practical or useable form yet.
article_snippet: Pilots’ union Balpa fears using pilotless planes or allowing authorities to remotely take control of a stricken or hijacked aircraft – and believes a stricken or hijacked aircraft – could leave planes in danger of being ‘hacked’ from afar.
article_snippet: With this and any other measures we must act with careful consideration to ensure we don’t create new safety risks or concerns such as those raised by the vulnerability of any form of remote control of a passenger aircraft.
article_snippet: But ’ Aviation safety analyst Chris Yates also argued that this could pose more risks to passengers, with ground controllers unable to see all that a pilot on board could see.
article_snippet: There is also a danger the technology would allow cyber-terrorists to hack into an airliner’s controls.
article_snippet: But the ground element of that was entirely pooh-poohed by the aviation industry for a whole variety of reasons, not least of which is aircraft safety.
article_snippet: I personally would not feel comfortable getting on any airliner where control could be taken away from the pilots and co-pilots.
highlights_snippet: Technology that might have averted Alps tragedy has existed for years but has been resisted by aviation industry .
  
highlights_snippet: But support has stalled amid fears of dangers of eliminating pilots and possibilities of so-called cyber-hijacks .