Passenger with ‘no idea how to fly’ lands plane after pilot emergency

WAPO ^ | May 10, 2022 | Julian Mark

[Skid289]

If you haven’t seen the follow up video where he gives and receives awards and tells his story at the national ATC awards show, it’s a must watch. Brought tears to my normally dry eyes.

[old curmudgeon]

Never flew or rode in one, but the length and the ability to carry weight along with a powerful engine tells me that pitch trim would be a serious requirement every time there is a power adjustment. Reduce power and the nose goes down dramatically as the aircraft will seek to maintain trim speed. That would startle a non pilot.

I suspect that is why in the close-up photo of the plane immediately after landing, you can see the flaps are retracted. Better to land fast on a long runway than to cause a non pilot to get a wild variation in pitch with the corresponding variation in air speed on final. Something experienced pilots do without even thinking about it.

The “pilot” has a cool head, but Morgan, the ATC guy, must be one of the best instructors ever.

[old curmudgeon]

variation in air speed on final

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Poorly stated.

The variation would be the inability to slow to proper speed on final , requiring strong control pressure/movement which in this case had to be avoided. So improper trim would result in a speed variation from that desired/required.

[Bratch]

They should have engaged the Otto pilot.