[Barbing]

>human pilots have napped many times over the

months?! :)

"The [German pilots'] union said it had carried out a survey of more than 900 pilots in recent weeks, which found that 93% of them admitted to napping during a flight in the past few months."

-The Guardian, "Almost all German pilots admit to napping during flights in union survey"; 2025-09-10

[bluGill]

Years as since humans have flown planes stable enough not to need constant attention. On a calm day you don't need autopilot, just set your trims correctly and some airplanes will hold course well enough for a short nap - though of course this is more likely to result in a crash (which likely has happened, though it is hard to guess why a plane crashed beyond pilot error)

[stavros]

Yeah, but a 1% angle over a long period of time intersects with the ground, and I wouldn't want to trust your alarm clock with 200 lives.

[schoen]

The pilots would get an extra "Woop! Woop! Terrain! Terrain! Pull up! Pull up!" redundant alarm clock, although it's terrifying to rely on it.

[bluGill]

I wouldn't want to either, and even the pilots who have done it claim accident. It has worked out for a lot.