Mark Hickey writes:

It's important to remember that the would-be pilot/savior would have
tremendous motivation to get it right the first time.

Yes. That could help or hurt, depending on the personality of the individual.

When thinking
through that scenario, I always pictured having three or four people
in the cockpit - each with a limited job that they'd be walked through
by an expert on the radio... maybe each with a cell phone connecting
them to individual team members on the ground. Then it's just up to
those experts on the ground to talk each of them through about 1/4 of
the process of getting the plane on the ground in one piece (as
opposed to making a flawless landing on the numbers).

That seems unnecessarily complicated. Especially with automation, as long as
the person in the left seat can push a button, turn a dial, and move a lever,
he can land the plane--provided also that he can follow simple instructions on
the radio.