Can a plane fly by itself?
No. All modern airliners are equipped with a sophisticated control computer known as auto pilot which frees the flight crew from much of their manual routine. The autopilot ensures that the plane stays on its preset course and maintains a specific altitude. However, the flight crew still has to programme it with data before and during the flight. By taking care of routine jobs, it allows the captain, co-pilot and flight engineer to concentrate more on other cockpit duties.
