Trump launches extraordinary attack on ‘too complicated’ planes: ‘I don't want Einstein to be my pilot’

‘Airplanes are becoming far too complex to fly’, president says

Donald Trump has launched an extraordinary attack on planes “too complicated” to fly after a Boeing 737 crashed in Ethiopia on Sunday.

“Airplanes are becoming far too complex to fly. Pilots are no longer needed, but rather computer scientists from MIT,” Mr Trump tweeted. ”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. 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!”

Automatic flying controls have existed since the early 20th century, according to experts.

“Automated flight controls go back into the 1920s, and through World War II they had rudimentary autopilots,” Michael Wiggins, who serves as the the chairman of the aeronautical science department at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Florida, told the New York Times last year.

“The idea was that the automation would relieve the pilots of very routine flying and monitoring tasks,” he added, “and would allow them to focus on situational awareness and other monitoring duties they have to take care of.”

British regulators have grounded all Boeing 737 Max aircraft following the Ethiopian Airlines crash on Sunday.

The UK Civil Aviation Authority said in a statement on Tuesday that though it had been monitoring the situation, it had as a precautionary measure “issued instructions to stop any commercial passenger flights from any operator arriving, departing or overflying UK airspace.”

Some five 737 Max aircraft are registered and operational in the United Kingdom, while a sixth had planned to commence operations later this week.

Several countries have now grounded the planes.

Experts are chasing details on why the plane crashed shortly after takeoff, and have launched an international investigation into the crash. Answers could take months, however, as agencies look at a number of variables, including weather, mechanical issues or possible criminal wrongdoing.

Sunday’s crash shortly after takeoff from Addis Ababa killed all 157 on board.

Additional reporting by AP