Can a passenger land the airplane?

Discussion in 'Survival and Sustainability' started by Robert, Dec 5, 2018.

  1. Robert

    Robert Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    I have shown people flying with me what to do in order to have enjoyable flying experience so they can say proudly, I flew an airplane today. I do not try to teach them how to land. Actually when you are a student pilot, you will be surprised at how fast your instructor will get you into the landing phase. You can't fly forever so at some point you have to land. This video will take you through procedures of landing a large jet airplane. I have not landed one so I have no particular advice but to watch for a few things.
    1. She keeps paying attention to the instrument panel. While this might seem fine to you, she is not scanning outside for traffic. You must not hit other airplanes. And a good habit for passengers in small airplanes is to scan around for other airplanes in case the pilot has not seen other airplanes. Better he be told by you than to hit any of them.

    2. At the end there is a wrap up of the flight. I think that is worth watching too.

    One thing too, one does not stop to park after landing on the runway, on the runway. You taxi away from the runway and she parked on the runway. But she was told to. She is just a passenger.

     
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  2. Spooky

    Spooky Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    I'm sure some could if they had help although it probably wouldn't be pretty.

    I know enough about them to know what makes them go up and down, left and right, side to side, and fast and slow.

    I've no idea what any of the knobs and switches do though.

    So could I get a commercial jet down without nosediving?

    Probably but boy would it be ugly.

    I should also add that I've played many flight simulator games. While its a joke to think they would compare to the real thing its at least a little bit of knowledge about how the airplanes work.
     
  3. Robert

    Robert Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    I am a pilot but am only qualified in several aircraft. My instructor taught to always fly the airplane. This might not make sense but he wanted us to focus us on flying the airplane as opposed to having a wandering mind. See outside by scanning the windshield. Do not jerk controls. The landing is the hardest part. Those who never flew are likely to crash as to land. Landing has to be taught. If a person is very hard to spook, they might learn by listening to the radio. Best to stay as calm as possible since panic leads to crashing.
     
  4. Spooky

    Spooky Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    Oh I've no doubt I would crash it but hopefully I would know enough to at least survive it.
     
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  5. Blaster3

    Blaster3 Well-Known Member

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    not much to know, other than grab as many pillows, blankets, clothes/coat/jackets as possible, buckle up and cover yourself with those items because as long as there's cabin pressure you can NOT open the exits, it's impossible to overcome the 8psi pressing on the doors (they open in slightly, before opening fully)... now if the cabin has already depressurized, then you can plan to bale-out just before impact, but choose an exit at the rear of the plane, that way there's only one obstacle (tail/stabilizer) to avoid and no engines to get sucked into (well, that is if u were smart enough to not book a flight on a rear engined aircraft)
     
  6. Texan

    Texan Well-Known Member

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    I think I could with a little help. Lower flaps and slats and landing gear. Approach at just above stall speed and apply breaks and spoilers on contact. Land against the wind if possible. Dump excess fuel on approach.
     
    Last edited: Nov 1, 2019
  7. Adfundum

    Adfundum Moderator Staff Member Donor

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    I skimmed through the video, but didn't watch all of it. Did the woman ever put her feet on the rudder pedals? I started flying a long time ago, but had some health issues after a few years. My father was an Air Force Pilot and I wanted him to teach me. He suggested we join the local Civil Air Patrol so we could use their plane. Got lots of hours that way, but it meant that we had to go on those CAP "missions". One time, there were four of us in a 172. We were told we could fill up on gas before we left for home. By the time we got back to our airport, it was dark and I had to use the shortest runway, which also required a rather steep approach. So, here I am, a student pilot with a full tank of gas and the four of us crammed into the 172. The guy in the right seat was an airline pilot who flew 747s but had little experience as an instructor. Long story short, we came in a bit slow and the stall warning was going off and on. The "instructor" was calmly telling me I was doing fine and my father was in the back yelling POWER, POWER, POWER! I was pushing the throttle in, but because I was "doing fine," I was doing it slowly. As we crossed the threshold, it just didn't feel right so I slammed the throttle all the way in. Smoothest landing I ever did. My father and the instructor got into a heated discussion.

    But I don't think I'd be so lucky in an airliner.
     
  8. Badaboom

    Badaboom Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    Yes a passenger could land the plane. In what condition the plane will be after landing is the question. Of course the plane will also land itself when the fuel runs out... :)
     
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  9. Babalu

    Babalu Banned

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    I have always imagined that I could land a small plane if I had to.

    An airliner or any multi engine plane would be an iffy proposition, with all there is to do and be aware of and the controls and indicators to find and pay attention to or ignore as well as maintaining spatial awareness and then adjusting flaps, engine power and lowering and locking the landing gear and all.

    Ooof.

    If I could get her on the runway with wheels up in a somewhat semi-controlled high friction landing in which no one died would be a MAJOR success.
     
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  10. Spooky

    Spooky Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    If it were a large plane I wouldn't bother with landing gear. They are designed to take a belly flop somewhat. Having never landed a big plane I think the best I could pull off would be a nice controlled crash that kept the plane in tact.
     
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  11. Robert

    Robert Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    Well the 172 is designed to fly with 4 passengers so long as they are not all grossly overweight. And it is supposed to fly with full fuel tanks. It seems you did fine as you report. The pilots who flew into the buildings on 911 had flying training. But they were not skilled in commercial aircraft. So all they had to do is steer into buildings.
     
  12. Chrizton

    Chrizton Well-Known Member

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    The biggest challenge would be the slower speed and the problem of people pulling back on the yoke instead of pushing it forward to gain lift as it is a counterintuitive necessity. My guess is most people would stall the aircraft on final, if not before, unless someone was talking them down.
     

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