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> As a NTSB FAA CFI, MD, Esq,
I doubt you are any of those if that's what you have to say.
Passenger with “no idea how to fly” lands plane after pilot incapacitated
171–180 of 491 posts
Re: Passenger with “no idea how to fly” lands plane after pilot incapacitated
#172Pilot 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!
Listening to the audio of the conversation, it doesn't seem like the passenger has no flying experience...
At minimum they must have spent significant time around aviation or be ex-military.
e: From another comment on Reddit
> Examples: > The passenger knew what button to press on the yoke to transmit to ATC. > The passenger knew aviation phraseology and phonetics “333 Lima Delta”. > The passenger knew where the altimeter was and his altitude “I’m maintaining 9100 feet” > Passenger was able to identify the transponder and enter a squawk code. > Passenger knew what the vertical speed indicator was “I’m descending right now at 550 feet a minute passing 8640 feet”. > My wife, who flies with me regularly, might get one or two of those items, but probably couldn't point out the transponder, much less enter a squawk code without instructions.
Re: Passenger with “no idea how to fly” lands plane after pilot incapacitated
#173Earlier quoted context omitted.
Taking off isn't hard, an airplane will take off on its own. It'll fly straight and level if you simply let go of the controls. It's the landing that's hard, and Moore would crash every time he landed.
There's an episode in the first season of "Into the Night" that suggests the complete opposite. Oops!
For simpler airplanes, point it down the runway and open the throttle. It'll take off.
Re: Passenger with “no idea how to fly” lands plane after pilot incapacitated
#174Garmin's got a relatively new system called Autoland that is designed for this exact situation. It allows a plane to land simply by pushing one button. It will pick the nearest appropriate airport, communicate with ATC, and land the plane entirely on its own. It's pretty amazing technology: https://www.planeandpilotmag.com/article/garmin-autoland-thi...
I've always said the reason we don't have flying cars yet is because people can't drive in 2D much less 3D. This gives me hope.
The autopilot declares an emergency via transponder code and radio calls, which means suddenly everything else in the sky is moved out of your way for you and you're given near-exclusive use of whatever airport the autopilot picks.
This does not bring us closer to "flying cars."
Re: Passenger with “no idea how to fly” lands plane after pilot incapacitated
#175Listening to the audio of the conversation, it doesn't seem like the passenger has no flying experience...
At minimum they must have spent significant time around aviation or be ex-military.
e: From another comment on Reddit
> Examples: > The passenger knew what button to press on the yoke to transmit to ATC. > The passenger knew aviation phraseology and phonetics “333 Lima Delta”. > The passenger knew where the altimeter was and his altitude “I’m maintaining 9100 feet” > Passenger was able to identify the transponder and enter a squawk code. > Passenger knew what the vertical speed indicator was “I’m descending right now at 550 feet a minute passing 8640 feet”. > My wife, who flies with me regularly, might get one or two of those items, but probably couldn't point out the transponder, much less enter a squawk code without instructions.
Re: Passenger with “no idea how to fly” lands plane after pilot incapacitated
#176Looking at the ATC transcript, the passenger couldn't figure out the transponder, change frequencies or give out his cell phone number. At least he was able to get the microphone working. Likely he eventually picked up the phone number ATC gave him and they took it from there. The video shows ATC got him to a really long runway, a good portion of which he overflew. No flare on the landing, but the Caravan is a tough…
> the attitude was just right
attitude or altitude? I imagine both would be correct. :)
Re: Passenger with “no idea how to fly” lands plane after pilot incapacitated
#177I grew up in Florida. It would take all my fingers and toes and more to count the number of times I have seen articles or even witnessed personally from the beach a pilot of a small craft either die naturally at the controls or have some medical event that causes a crash and death. Why are small planes necessary? Am I wrong to believe what it seems like, that the overwhelmingly popular purpose is entertainment ? Is a…
What do you think of all the people young drivers kill? Should people be prevented from driving they are a bit more responsible? Maybe around 30 years.
Re: Passenger with “no idea how to fly” lands plane after pilot incapacitated
#178Earlier quoted context omitted.
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?
In the event of a pileup, it doesn’t really matter how much distance you’ve left. If you end up hitting the car in front of you, you get cited for failure to maintain distance. Because, if you had left enough distance, you wouldn’t have hit the car in front of you. It doesn’t matter if you left 50, 75, or 100m. If you hit the car in front, you didn’t leave enough space. And the risk of someone else swerving into that gap doesn’t mean you’re not at fault, it just means you’re both wrong now.
Re: Passenger with “no idea how to fly” lands plane after pilot incapacitated
#179I grew up in Florida. It would take all my fingers and toes and more to count the number of times I have seen articles or even witnessed personally from the beach a pilot of a small craft either die naturally at the controls or have some medical event that causes a crash and death. Why are small planes necessary? Am I wrong to believe what it seems like, that the overwhelmingly popular purpose is entertainment ? Is a…
What do you think of all the people young drivers kill? Should people be prevented from driving they are a bit more responsible? Maybe around 30 years.
Poor judgement is not the same as incapacity. We have a framework to deal with poor judgement. What we also need is a framework to deal with incapacity.
Re: Passenger with “no idea how to fly” lands plane after pilot incapacitated
#180Garmin's got a relatively new system called Autoland that is designed for this exact situation. It allows a plane to land simply by pushing one button. It will pick the nearest appropriate airport, communicate with ATC, and land the plane entirely on its own. It's pretty amazing technology: https://www.planeandpilotmag.com/article/garmin-autoland-thi...
Hasn't autopilot had "auto-land" technology for many years now? How is Garmin's different?