millions a s aastria project, one of several efforts around the world to develop planes that can be found remotely. what you can hear at the moment is the discussion with air traffic that s exactly the same discussion the pilots would be having if they were in charge of the steering of the aircraft. reporter: military success with drones has driven much of the interest and some efforts are focused on airplanes in hazardous conditions such as hurricane research and fighting wildfires. analysts say pilotless planes could be a $400 billion a year global business so why not passenger flights? first, the airline industry has a remarkable safety record despite high-profile disasters. many believe on-board pilots remain the most reliable way to handle problems and retrofitting planes would cost billions of dollars. and, second passengers may not be ready. robert i gogoyer is with flying
happen. a pilot on the ground is taking over. ready to take control. proceed. i have control. you have control. reporter: this is the $94 million project by the british aerospace company bae, one of several efforts around the world to develop planes that can be flown remotely. what you can hear is the discussion with air traffic that s the same as the pilots would be having if they were in charge of the steering. reporter: military success with drones has driven much of the interest. some efforts are focused on airplanes in hazardous conditions such as hurricane research and wildfires. analysts say pilotless planes could be a $400 billion a year global business. why not passenger flights? first, the airline industry has a remarkable safety record despite high-profile disasters. many believe onboard pilots remain the most reliable way to
can be flown remotely. what you can hear at the moment is the discussion with air traffic that s exactly the same as the pilots would be having if they were in charge of the steering of the aircraft. reporter: military success with drones has driven much of the interest and some efforts are focused on airplanes in hazardous conditions such as hurricane research and fighting wildfires. analysts say pilotless planes could be a $400 billion a year global business. so why not passenger flights? first, the airline industry has a remarkable safety record despite high profile disasters. many believe on-board pilots remain the most reliable way to handle problems and retrofitting planes would cost billions of dollars. second passengers may not be ready. robert goyer is with flying magazine. i start by asking how would i feel getting into an airliner that didn t have airline pilots up front. i wouldn t do it. reporter: one of the reasons is that there are still