Talking through a landing?

[SteveSmith]

I was just reading the thread on R&N about armed pilots and hikacking, and it got me thinking.

In all the movies, when an aircraft is left with no flight crew on board, a total amateur manages to land it, with the assistance of a grizzled old pilot who's been dragged out of a bar somewhere to stand in the tower and talk them through it.

Has this ever happened, with light aircraft or anything bigger? Would it be possible for a non-pilot, or perhaps a PPL, or flight simmer (a la "Snakes on Plane"), or even a professinal who isn't trained on the type to land a big jet with only verbal assistance from the tower?

Steve.

[Blues&twos]

Nothing so dramatic, but I have seen TV footage of a student pilot (not a complete novice though) being talked down from a following aircraft to land a float plane on Bewl Water in Kent following incapacitation of his instructor. Good landing too.

Can't find any footage on youtube!!

[Paracab]

Don't know if its happend in real life but I did read the story of a flight simmer 'landing' a professional A320 sim rather well without any intervention.

[Dan Winterland]

No too tricky. If you know how to set it up for an auto land, it's easy.

[HEATHROW DIRECTOR]

Dan sshhhh.. don't give the game away. We all thought pilots had immensely difficult jobs!!

[pulse1]

This happened with a light aircraft some years ago at Sandown when an instructor passed out. The student was talked down by another instructor. Probably about 15 years ago so I can't remember the details.

[BOAC]

I'm pretty sure this was done to death on PPrune a while back, and I'm sure search will find it? What you see in films is not the truth!

The answer is that if the a/c has an autopilot, it could be set-up for an autopilot approach and touchdown. The smaller the a/c is the more the chance of a PPL being able to put it down safely, although the best you can probably say is that it will 'come to rest':eek: in a place with rescue facilities nearby.

No, it is not THAT difficult, but things do happen rather quickly once you get near and on to the ground, and the chances of a 'newbie' coping without an accident of some sort are slim.

Even with an 'automatic' landing there are things that need to be done, and getting them all covered (and remembered!!) in a radio 'pre-brief' is a daunting task - and that is assuming the 'pilot' can work the radio, and does not 'freeze' in panic on landing.

[Curious Pax]

And assuming the person doing the radio brief covers everything that is needed. Not a slight on them, as despite the comprehensive training all pilots go through I shouldn't imagine they cover telling a non-pilot by radio everything they need to know in order to carry out a successful landing!

[gingernut]

Tha autorities would never allow it, they'd opt for a ditch in the sea- I know 'cos it was on Die Hard, or was it airplane?:)

[Blues&twos]

Ctrl+Alt+Del usually does the trick for me.

No problem.

[DILLIGAFF]

About 20 years ago when I was learning to fly in a PA38 I was given a 3 hour session in the British Airways B757 simulator at Cranebank.It was a thankyou for a job we had done for them fixing a sim that had come off the jacks. I managed to take off, fly around New York, including flying between the two towers of the WTC at about 80 degree bank with the instrument panel lighting up as we did.( Little did we know what would happen all those years later.)Also managed to make a reasonable landing back at JFK.As I was the only one of us who flew at the time the instructor then told me to sit in the right hand seat and handle the gear , flaps and call out the speeds for all the other guys while they had their turn.Great fun.
D