PPRuNe Forums - View Single Post - COULD you land a passenger jet (if you ONLY hold a PPL)???
Old 18th Oct 2011, 20:09
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MCDU2
 
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By the time that you realise that we are both dead or incapacitated up front it will already be to late. And on the slim chance that you realise in time then you might want to consider:-

- how will you get through the locked cockpit door in time to save the day?
- ever tried lifting a deadweight of 100kg or thereabouts out of a cockpit seat in a confined space without knocking any of the flight controls. Granted on an Airbus it is slightly easier with the sidestick off to the side but more than likely you will nudge something important
- autolands are a nice concept in theory but you still have to meet all of the arming conditions, have a serviceable aircraft, and ensure that the airport you are about to land on has an ILS and not just an NDB or visual approach. If its a circling only to one end then your definitely screwed.
- there is also the small matter of stopping the aircraft after you are back on terra firma and not overshooting the end of the runway and hitting something. Be a shame to do a nice autoland and then split the fuselage in half leading to a fireball as you go off the edge of the runway into a ravine.
- once stopped what happens next? do you let the punters blow the escape slides and dive into live running engines or will you run the appropriate checks to secure the aircraft before commanding the evacuation?

Finally there may well be a company pilot on board so you will be surplus to requirements in anycase.
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