Trump thinks planes crash because technology is too complicated
God help us all.
What the heck is he talking about?
In the wake of a deadly Ethiopian Airlines crash on Sunday, Trump sent a series of bizarre tweets arguing that technological advancements in aviation have made planes “too complex to fly” and that “older and simpler” planes are “far better.”
“Pilots are no longer needed, but rather computer scientists from MIT,” Trump tweeted Tuesday morning. “I see it all the time in many products. Always seeking to go one unnecessary step further, when often old and simpler is far better. Split second decisions are needed, and the complexity creates danger.”
Trump continued, “All of this for great cost yet very little gain. I don’t know about you, but I don’t want Albert Einstein to be my pilot. I want great flying professionals that are allowed to easily and quickly take control of a plane!”
Let’s try and break this down.
One can only assume Trump is talking about the Ethiopian Airlines crash — which has left aviation experts questioning the safety and reliability of the Boeing 737 Max 8 aircraft. The Ethiopian Airlines crash is the second such 737 Max 8 to crash in recent months.
However, no one is saying that technological advancements in aircraft are a bad thing.
In fact, as aircraft have been modernized, flying is safer than it’s ever been — something Trump himself pointed out (and ridiculously took credit for) in January 2018, after reports that there were no commercial aircraft fatalities the previous year.
And let’s just say Trump is not the best judge of airline safety.
This year, Trump ignored warnings from airline pilots that his pointless, record-long government shutdown was putting lives at risk.
And in 1989, a plane owned by Trump’s failed Trump Shuttle airlines had to make an emergency landing due to maintenance errors. Footage showed the plane’s nose scraping the ground.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nVHnWe1oxaQ
His airline ultimately failed a few years later.
To be sure, a handful of U.S. senators have begun to demand that the Boeing 737 Max 8 planes be grounded until their safety can be determined.
But no one has gone as far as Trump by saying that all technological advancement in aircraft is a bad thing.
However, we shouldn’t be that surprised that Trump would rather keep technology and science in the stone age.
He is, after all, advocating for gutting funding to science and research agencies in his 2020 budget.
Published with permission of The American Independent Foundation.
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