Posted on 12/07/2023 3:57:00 PM PST by algore
Picture this: you’re nestled comfortably in your seat cruising towards your travel destination when a flight attendant’s voice breaks through the silence:
“Ladies and gentlemen, both pilots are incapacitated. Are there any passengers who could land this plane with assistance from air traffic control?”
If you think you could manage it, you’re not alone. Survey results published in January indicate about one-third of adult Americans think they could safely land a passenger aircraft with air traffic control’s guidance. Among male respondents, the confidence level rose to nearly 50%.
Can a person with no prior training simply guide everyone to a smooth touchdown?
We’ve all heard stories of passengers who saved the day when the pilot became unresponsive.
For instance, last year Darren Harrison managed to land a twin-engine aircraft in Florida – after the pilot passed out – with the guidance of an air traffic controller who also happened to be a flight instructor.
However, such incidents tend to take place in small, simple aircraft. Flying a much bigger and heavier commercial jet is a completely different game.
Once the aircraft comes close to the runway, they must accurately judge its height, reduce power and adjust the rate of descent – ensuring they land on the correct area of the runway.
On the ground, they will use the brakes and reverse thrust to bring the aircraft to a complete stop before the runway ends. This all happens within just a few minutes.
Both takeoff and landing are far too quick, technical and concentration-intensive for an untrained person to pull off. They also require a range of skills that are only gained through extensive training, such as understanding the information presented on different gauges, and being able to coordinate one’s hands and feet in a certain way.
(Excerpt) Read more at cnn.com ...
If you can walk away from the landing, it’s a good landing.
If you can reuse the equipment, it’s a great landing.
Anyone could land that plane.
But, to envoke Daffy Duck, ... You have to be able to walk away.
If you’ve prepped for landing correctly then you won’t have to make any extreme adjustments to the throttle except when you cut it. But like Tom Petty says, it’s still the hardest part. If you blow it, you have to reset the simulation.
I thought that the waiting is the hardest part.
....and don’t call me Shirley!
You will be. One way or another.
Dammit well they can’t both be the hardest part!!
ROFL!
Only 6 posts, not bad.
5.56mm
I’ve heard if the Shanksville guys had retaken the cockpit they would have been redirected to Niagara Falls (long runway, not too busy airport).
In the words of Indiana Jones, “How hard could it be?”
It’ll be on the ground when I’m finished, isn’t that good enough?
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