Can I add my support to the campaign to nominate this as the most bonkers and pointless multi-page thread of 2003? (Sorry, Genghis)
Can you give a passenger a go? YES.
Er, that's it. If you really need to qualify that answer, add "when it's safe to do so". In other words, don't say to granny: "I can't be arsed to recover from this inverted spin/fly under this motorway bridge/shoot this approach to minima/whatever, so you do it".
Guess what: you won't find that anywhere in the Big Bumper Book of Law n'stuff for Pilots. Rejoice, people, for most of you live in the UK or in other civilised places such as Canada, OZ etc where the law about everything (not just flying) operates in this simple way: everything is allowed unless it is specifically not allowed. Hence there is no "ruling" on this subject and no need for one. The answer truly does lie in the realm of the bleedin' obvious.
One contributor on page 4 above suggested that the ANO or some other (unidentified) legal instrument contains wording prohibiting passengers handling controls. The text which that contributor "quoted" does not exist. He or she may have had in mind a garbled version of Article 21(2)(c) ANO. If anyone really wants a legal explanation of why that Article does not mean that your granny cannot have a go, I can provide one (DIY clue: read Art 21(1) first), but hasn't this all gone on too long already?
Last edited by FNG; 29th December 2003 at 21:39.