When robots start flying us

October 13, 2025

By Kim Komando

Imagine boarding a plane, looking toward the cockpit … and no one’s there. No captain, no copilot. Just empty seats and a glowing dashboard. Sounds like sci-fi, right? Nope, it’s real, and it’s already flying.

A company called Reliable Robotics (paywall link) just pulled it off with a Cessna 208B Caravan. This is a rugged, workhorse aircraft used by FedEx and small airlines across the country. We’re talking 41 feet long, a 52-foot wingspan and a payload capacity of 3,600 pounds. It can carry nine people or a whole lot of packages. This isn’t some toy drone.

The entire flight, from taxi, takeoff, cruise, all the way to landing, lasted about 12 minutes, and not one human touched the controls. The “pilot” was 50 miles away, watching everything from a control center on the ground. Amazing, right?

🛩️ From aviators to algorithms

This is major. The FAA just gave Reliable Robotics the green light to keep autopilot running through the riskiest parts of a flight, not just cruising altitude. We’re talking gate-to-gate, no hands on the controls.

The company already got a $17 million contract with the U.S. Air Force to test this tech on military transport planes. The big-picture goal? Cut down on human error, ease the pilot shortage and bring service to smaller airports that can’t staff full crews. 

Think emergency deliveries, remote access and cargo flights that don’t stop for lunch breaks.

🤓 Houston, we have a bot

Let’s get real. What happens if the comms link drops midair? Or a freak storm rolls in? Who takes the blame if something goes sideways: the airline, the coder or the joystick jockey back on land? All great questions for sure.

Reliable says their setup is “airframe agnostic,” which means it could work on just about any plane from Amazon Air workhorses to full-size commercial jets. Full FAA certification is the goal by 2028, and this isn’t a far-off idea. It’s happening. Right now.

🙋‍♀️ So here’s the question I’m asking you, and I want your honest answer: Would you feel safer in a robotic plane or a human-piloted one? When you rate the newsletter at the end, let me know in a comment. Be sure to include your email address if you want to come on my show and talk about it. That’s so fun!