With modeling tools developed by his research team, Timothy Takahashi makes a case against pilot error being the cause of the recent deadly crash of a Boeing 737 passenger jet in Ethiopia. The Fulton Schools professor of practice in aerospace engineering created a hypothetical flight profile of the aircraft’s actions to determine that its autopilot system had put functions of most key components of the of plane under computer control. From that point on, the plane began to lose altitude and gain speed — while also preventing pilots from taking control. Figuring out how to prevent reoccurrence of such situations presents a big challenge for airlines. The article has also been published in MarketWatch, the San Francisco Chronicle, AlterNet and Citizen Truth.