[frik]

Launched into production during 1984, the Airbus Industries Airbus A320 became the first airliner to fly with an all-digital fly-by-wire control system. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fly-by-wire

Technically it's already possible. It's a lot easier than autonomous cars, as all the technology is already in place and less other human-beings that could interfere the system. In a few years, commercial airplanes will probably be like the US combat drones that fly autonomously in Middle East/Africa while being supervised from Las Vegas.

But you are right, that with AI other issues surface. An accident of the A320 in late 2014:

On 5 November 2014, Lufthansa Flight 1829, an Airbus A321 was flying from Bilbao to Munich when the aircraft, while on autopilot, lowered the nose into a descent reaching 4000 fpm. The uncommanded pitch-down was caused by two angle of attack sensors that were jammed in their positions, causing the fly by wire protection to believe the aircraft entered a stall while it climbed through FL310. The Alpha Protection activated, forcing the aircraft to pitch down, which could not be corrected even by full stick input. The crew disconnected the related Air Data Units and were able to recover the aircraft. The event was also reported in the German press several days before the Germanwings crash. The German BFU (Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau) reported on the incident on 17 March 2015 in a Bulletin publishing the flight data recorder and pitch control data in English and German. As a result of this incident an Airworthiness Directive made mandatory the Aircraft Flight Manual amended by the procedure the manufacturer had described in the FOT and the OEB and a subsequent information of flight crews prior to the next flight. EASA issued a similar Airworthiness Directive for the aircraft types A330/340. -- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Accidents_and_incidents_involvi...

At first the Germanwings Flight 9525 sounded very similary to the Lufthansa Flight 1829. There were speculation that the same issue happened again, but then they found the voice recorder (co-pilot...). Germanwings Flight 9525 was an Airbus A320-200: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Germanwings_Flight_9525