autopilot

[ aw-toh-pahy-luh t ]

/ ˈɔ toʊˌpaɪ lət /

Origin of autopilot

auto-³ + pilot

The autopilot would be used throughout a normal flight because the 777, like all large airliners, is difficult to fly manually.

MH370 Debris Is Lost Forever, Can the Plane Be Found Without It? |Clive Irving |September 7, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
Frequent attempts to contact the Boeing 737 failed as it flew on under the control of the autopilot.

The Flight 370 Zombie Theory Rises From the Dead |Clive Irving |June 26, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
Australian investigators say they believe the doomed Boeing 777 flew on autopilot and that the crew was incapacitated.

The Flight 370 Zombie Theory Rises From the Dead |Clive Irving |June 26, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
Consequently they had given false readings which, in turn, had caused the autopilot system to shut down.

Why Is Malaysia Hiding Its Report on MH370? |Clive Irving |April 28, 2014 |DAILY BEAST

From infrastructure improvements to entitlement spending, government is on autopilot, according to author Philip K. Howard.

Our Mindless Government Is Heading for a Spending Disaster |Nick Gillespie |April 10, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
The autopilot functioned perfectly, however, and Logan trusted it to the point of insouciance.

Tight Squeeze |Dean Charles Ing
Carol hugged him until he relinquished control to the autopilot and gave her his undivided attention.

Fly By Night |Arthur Dekker Savage
The autopilot of RI 276 had no intention of letting this happen, of course.

Pushbutton War |Joseph P. Martino
This either knocked out the autopilot or shocked it into submission.

Deathworld |Harry Harrison
The altimeter had fed information to the autopilot, leveling the boat off parallel to the ground.

Deathworld |Harry Harrison

autopilot

/ (ˌɔːtəˈpaɪlət, -təʊ-) /

short for automatic pilot