Free flight was supposed to have happened already. But there are obstacles.

As for ATCs if you do not make use of a skill frequently, you atrophy. When you are suddenly thrown in the middle of an emergency, you perform badly. We can't have "mall cops" watching computers doing air traffic control.

People do not like automation that much either. Consider the fact that underground trains have drivers even though technically they are not needed.

And then there are the technical aspects...

So I do not think that this particular crash would bring much new to the table.

Nuremberg, Germany here.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuremberg_U-Bahn#ATC_and_driver...

We have driverless trains without drivers at all. There is some staff getting into random trains to check for problems (like problematic passengers, etc).

Interesting thing: the migration is going gradually, there are trains with drivers running on the same line than driverless trains, and IIRC this was never done before.

> Consider the fact that underground trains have drivers even though technically they are not needed.

The London DLR[0] has been automated since it was opened in '87. It travels on the surface too.

[0] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Docklands_Light_Railway

Ah well done, is it possible that this is because the contract is to a private company?

It's highly unlikely any answer based on this crash is going to be accurate for at least a year.