Here is my 2p worth as the hypothetical pilot who was just drawing his last breath on board and was selecting my "immediate effectively" replacement.......
I played a lot of FS as a young man, and I also flew a lot of PPL hours.
If my choice was between a 1000hr PPL pilot and a 1000hr flights sim enthusiast (of any age), I would would select the latter to do the job. In the scenario suggested by the original poster, what the aircraft and the pax need at that moment is a competent systems operator, not a stick-and-rudder jockey.
The big leap of faith is getting someone to work out how to use the radio, but assuming there is no systems failures and no fuel crisis, it would all be pretty straightforward thereafter. A trained monkey could do my job.