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 ...
People need to be careful what they say on the intercom. I was on a flight going through a storm and having a ton of turbulence. The pilot got on the intercom and said, 'folks, we're experiencing some difficulty here, but we'll just, ah, hope for the best'.
I found her strangely attractive
Actually landing the plane is not so hard. Landing the plane in such a way that it can take off again, not so easy.
Sully says or swim away from
Favorite scene: “yes stewardess, I speak jive.”
Here is Mrs Billingsly speaking about her part in that. wonderful interview
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gUw2fIa0dSI
Or further west, a dry lake bed. I'd go with wheels up (it's not my plane!) and empty or near empty tanks.
No fuel, no fireball. Just a bumpy, VERY bumpy, skid and possible flip to a stop.
Everybody out of the pool!!! Use all the exits and any fractures in the fuselage! Help anyone who needs it...
Then it gets hacked and someone crashes a whole bunch of planes.
Everything has a down side.
Aircraft maintenance in the military, did heavy transports for several years - C-5A and C-141A. I know the power, hydraulic, avionics, flight and engine instrument systems. Fun Job, enjoyed it.
Could I land one? Maybe good enough to walk or crawl away. Reusing the airframe? That’ll cost you extra.
same here. F-16 avionics.
From gliding in above the end of the runway to wheels down, reverse thrust and brakes on and then all off as you come to a near stop is seconds, not minutes, in the experience of this commercial passenger seat guy.
I don’t believe I could land any plane, but I’d have a pretty good shot at landing a Space Shuttle. A lifetime ago I used to work on the Shuttle Simulator at Johnson Space Center.
Same here - B52-G/H models, KC-135 - automatic flight control and heading.
We knew people in the B-52 Sim Shop that would let you try flying on the mids shift. Straight and level flight was okay. Landing - well, it never ended well.! Haha !
I was thinking ‘Midnight Express’.
As a retired career pilot I think it possible to keep it in the air, even without the AP engaged but landing ... Nope!
Some of the bigger carrier flight decks are still 2 and 3 stories above the tarmac .. when they are sitting ON the tarmac!😁
AGAIN .. NOPE!😌
Woohoo!!
Yep! Agree, Gen B! I landed a 747 via a professional simulator over twenty years ago. Killed everyone... five times in a row.
I can and have (with someone certified instructors present) flown helicopters and small airplanes. Actually landed a small airplane once (again instructor present).
That was not too tough.
Wasn’t stupid enough to try to land the heli.
I have NO illusions I could land a heavy. None. Would only try if there was NO other option. Hey a small chance is better than no chance.
The difference between crash and not crash. Gravity wins either way.
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