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Large aircraft are one thing, but most folks could land a light aircraft most of the time in good weather with barely any training. But most is like 80% and the

Large aircraft are one thing, but most folks could land a light aircraft most of the time in good weather with barely any training. But most is like 80% and there's probably a 10% chance of dying or at least badly damaging the aircraft.

pc86 4y ago
Not nitpicking because I agree with you, but in an emergency situation like this if you can walk away from the airplane, the condition of it is irrelevant. So I think at least 85-90% of the time (in good weather with a crosswind component below 7-8kts or so) everyone would be okay. And absolutely agreed on the large aircraft part. I'm a private pilot, but no instrument cert yet, with only piston single experience - not even a high performance or complex endorsement - and I'm pretty sure if I had to land a widebody commercial airliner the only difference between me and someone with no experience is I'd sound better on the radio. I think the end result would probably be the same.
- Nextgrid 4y ago
  I think the first obstacle for a layman to land a plane is to not panic and figure out how to work the radio (without pressing the wrong thing and accidentally shutting down the engines or something equally disastrous) so they can then follow the instructions calmly. I’d expect most people that would fail would fail at this stage - if they can get past that, their odds improve a lot.
  - dlisboa 4y ago
    That's exactly right. This pilot on YouTube did this test with a layperson and the main issue was getting comms up. It took like 20 minutes if I remember correctly, but after that the landing itself went alright. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lw6mjVIdbbc https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lw6mjVIdbbc
  - im3w1l 4y ago
    It's less of a disaster than you'd think. Even if you shut off the engines the plane can glide for a long time. So if you don't panic you will have time to turn them back on.
    - pc86 4y ago
      You're right, but in this situation - a non-pilot is in a piston single with a pilot who becomes incapacitated - what are the odds they're not already panicking?

pc86 4y ago

Not nitpicking because I agree with you, but in an emergency situation like this if you can walk away from the airplane, the condition of it is irrelevant. So I think at least 85-90% of the time (in good weather with a crosswind component below 7-8kts or so) everyone would be okay. And absolutely agreed on the large aircraft part. I'm a private pilot, but no instrument cert yet, with only piston single experience - not even a high performance or complex endorsement - and I'm pretty sure if I had to land a widebody commercial airliner the only difference between me and someone with no experience is I'd sound better on the radio. I think the end result would probably be the same.

Nextgrid 4y ago
I think the first obstacle for a layman to land a plane is to not panic and figure out how to work the radio (without pressing the wrong thing and accidentally shutting down the engines or something equally disastrous) so they can then follow the instructions calmly. I’d expect most people that would fail would fail at this stage - if they can get past that, their odds improve a lot.
- dlisboa 4y ago
  That's exactly right. This pilot on YouTube did this test with a layperson and the main issue was getting comms up. It took like 20 minutes if I remember correctly, but after that the landing itself went alright. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lw6mjVIdbbc https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lw6mjVIdbbc
- im3w1l 4y ago
  It's less of a disaster than you'd think. Even if you shut off the engines the plane can glide for a long time. So if you don't panic you will have time to turn them back on.
  - pc86 4y ago
    You're right, but in this situation - a non-pilot is in a piston single with a pilot who becomes incapacitated - what are the odds they're not already panicking?