The CNN article has audio. I can't believe how calm the passenger is.
https://edition.cnn.com/travel/article/florida-passenger-lan...
Passenger with “no idea how to fly” lands plane after pilot incapacitated
131–140 of 491 posts
Re: Passenger with “no idea how to fly” lands plane after pilot incapacitated
#132This is a side of Florida Man we rarely hear about.
Re: Passenger with “no idea how to fly” lands plane after pilot incapacitated
#133Earlier quoted context omitted.
While I think even the colossally tone-deaf FAA wouldn't try to prosecute this guy under these circumstances, there's an odd gray area here, where a certificated pilot can deviate from any regulation to meet the need of an emergency [1] -- so I think a twist of logic would allow a non-pilot to be allowed to deviate from the "must have a pilot certificate" rules to meet his emergency the same way while acting as pilot…
One might argue that if he's specifically following the direct instructions of the ATC, who is a licensed pilot in this case, that the ATC is "the pilot," and his allowing of a non-pilot to push the buttons on his behalf was a necessary deviation to handle the emergency and land the plane.
I’m far more familiar with operation under Part 107 (sUAS, i.e., drones I let kids fly my quadcopters regularly. Legally, I’m the “RPIC” - “remote pilot in command”. The fact that someone else is physical operating the controls is irrelevant. I’m responsible for the safe operation of the aircraft. Because it’s remote, there is a requirement that I be able to take immediate control of the aircraft if necessary; standing next to the person with the controller is sufficient to meet that requirement.
Re: Passenger with “no idea how to fly” lands plane after pilot incapacitated
#134I bet this was a guy raised on video games. I was about to make a joke about it but I'm actually serious. Once I, a former Houstonian with no experience driving on ice, was driving through the snowy mountains and lost control of my car. Instead of panicking, my video-game-induced laser focus kicked in and I calmly piloted the car until the wheels gained traction and I could park the car on the side of the road. But l…
> I bet this was a guy raised on video games. I was about to make a joke about it but I'm actually serious.
That was a major plot point in the movie, Snakes on a Plane.
Re: Passenger with “no idea how to fly” lands plane after pilot incapacitated
#135Earlier quoted context omitted.
In a multi-car pileup, the car immediately in front of you literally stops in an instant, much faster than if it were to fully hit the brakes. It's much faster than any driver could realistically expect. It can happen so fast, you may not even see brake lights turn on. It's why these pileups can get so surprisingly large.
That is why you should always leave enough space in front of you so that you can react and safely come to a stop if the car in front were to suddenly hit a pileup.
The braking distance at 70mph is a huge 75m, which is about 9 London buses. Add your reaction time, and do you aee why distances of over 100m between cars are slightly unrealistic?
Re: Passenger with “no idea how to fly” lands plane after pilot incapacitated
#136Pilot here. I'm floored that a person with no flying experience could put this airplane down without a scratch. Air traffic controllers are not necessarily pilots, but luckily, this one was a pilot and certified instructor. ATC and passenger worked through a stressful situation to produce an amazing outcome. Bravo!
I heard the story on the radio this morning and they said that not only was the controller a certified instructor but he flew this specific plane so he knew how to direct him to everything on the panel! Really incredible bit of coincidence.
On the contrary the CNN story [0] said the controller was NOT familiar with this specific plane so he got a print out of the dashboard of that model so that he can guide the "pilot" properly. There was also a picture.
[0] https://edition.cnn.com/travel/article/florida-passenger-lan...
Re: Passenger with “no idea how to fly” lands plane after pilot incapacitated
#137Earlier quoted context omitted.
One might argue that if he's specifically following the direct instructions of the ATC, who is a licensed pilot in this case, that the ATC is "the pilot," and his allowing of a non-pilot to push the buttons on his behalf was a necessary deviation to handle the emergency and land the plane.
If that's the case, shouldn't the controller be a Certificated Remote Pilot under Part 107 rules?
Heh - I think this wouldn’t fall under 107 because the aircraft weighs more than fifty pounds.
… unless they applied for and were granted a waiver beforehand, which would raise other questions :)
Re: Passenger with “no idea how to fly” lands plane after pilot incapacitated
#138Wow... They should make a movie about that. For you youngins out there... this is a joke, there were several Airport 7X movies (including an episode of The Incredible Hulk (Bill Bixby series) where Banner/The Hulk had to land a plane) in the 70's.
I just want to tell you both good luck, we're all counting on you.
Re: Passenger with “no idea how to fly” lands plane after pilot incapacitated
#139Earlier quoted context omitted.
In a multi-car pileup, the car immediately in front of you literally stops in an instant, much faster than if it were to fully hit the brakes. It's much faster than any driver could realistically expect. It can happen so fast, you may not even see brake lights turn on. It's why these pileups can get so surprisingly large.
Just to quantify this, the shortest 60-0 stopping distance for a "consumer-grade" car (meaning not a formula one vehicle) is the Porsche 911, which can do it in 27m. This is nearly 6 vehicle lengths. Usual safety guidelines are to stay about 3 car lengths behind whoever you're following, so even world's greatest brakes are not gonna save you if the vehicle in front stops in 0m because it hits an immovable pile of alr…
3 car lengths seems way too close to be following at highways speeds. Assuming a car is about 16 ft long, that gives you less than half a second of reaction time at 70 mph. Even at 25 mph, it's still less than 1.5 seconds.
I very much prefer to be 3 SECONDS behind the person in front of me. It's a nice metric that works at basically all speeds above 30.
Re: Passenger with “no idea how to fly” lands plane after pilot incapacitated
#140Earlier quoted context omitted.
Yup but I always thought what if we do like a 1 feet above the ground? We avoid death by plummeting from the sky. There are other advantages like - we don't need roads and we save a lot of energy and money on their construction and maintenance. - we also save energy by going from point A to point B directly instead of following the road. - No friction between tyre and ground I guess the amount of energy required to k…
You’re not going point to point a foot above the surface unless you’re over water (calm seas at that). Soviets built a concept plane that did just this, though. Airplanes are more efficient near the ground than a little bit away, but not as efficient as at normal cruising altitudes.
You're probably thinking of Ground Effect Vehicles (sometimes Ekranoplans). The Russians built lots, not just as a concept, if you own a huge lake (not an ocean) they're somewhat practical for crossing it quickly. The Americans and Canadians (who also own some large lakes) have likewise built some of these.
The Ground Effect, as its name suggests, only exists near the ground, so in one sense you're "flying" but if the surface drops away you will fall too. Hence it's good on a lake or possibly open plains, but won't work on normal ground with rises and hills and so on, never mind buildings and trees.