Two days after an Ethiopian Airlines flight crashed, killing everyone on board, President Donald Trump decided to chime in on the nature of airplane technology.
Taking to Twitter on Tuesday morning, Trump lamented that airplanes have become complicated.
Without mentioning the Ethiopian crash specifically, Trump wrote, “Airplanes are becoming far too complex to fly. Pilots are no longer needed, but rather computer scientists from MIT. I see it all the time in many products. Always seeking to go one unnecessary step further, when old and simpler is far better.”
Despite having no professional knowledge of flying, Trump added, “Split second decisions are… needed, and the complexity creates danger.” Claiming that these advancements are at “great cost yet very little gain,” Trump went on to write, “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!”
Airplanes are becoming far too complex to fly. Pilots are no longer needed, but rather computer scientists from MIT. 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….
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 12, 2019
….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!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 12, 2019
Thus far, the governments of China, Indonesia, Australia, Singapore, and the United Kingdom have grounded all Boeing 737 Max 8s in their airspace. The European Union is planning to follow suit. U.S. Carriers, meanwhile, have refused to do so.