"Mxsmanic" wrote in message
...
Mike Ash writes:

The bit in the article where he talks about a simmer being asked to land
a passenger plane after the pilots have been debilitated is pretty
funny. Absolutely no mention whatsoever of the difficulty or
improbability of actually pulling off such a feat. It is simply assumed
that it could be done.

It can easily be done.

Large commercial transports are heavily automated, and most flights are
conducted under computer control for most of their durations. With the
automation in operation, no particular flying skill is required to keep
the
aircraft flying, and since the automation can also land the aircraft, no
particularly flying skill is required for landing, either.

Because of this, any person of reasonable intelligence who can follow
instructions precisely can land an airliner, with help over the radio from
a
pilot.

Many people imagine a non-pilot grabbing the yoke and wrestling the
aircraft
to the ground, Hollywood-style, and that type of scenario is indeed
implausible and likely to end in failure. But it's a very unrealistic
scenario, because in reality the automation would fly the plane, and the
non-pilot would never have to touch the controls. As long as he can
follow
instructions, press buttons, and turn dials, he can land the airplane (or,
more precisely, he can direct the computer to land the airplane).

This has already been demonstrated on multiple occasions in full-motion
sims.
In fact, some people are able to land airliners by hand without any
previous
instruction, as long as they have an instructor to guide them. It's not
rocket science.

It's actually easier to land an airliner than it is to land a small
aircraft,
because small aircraft usually have only limited automation, just as small
aircraft pilots usually have no clue about how large airliners work, and
tend
to assume that everything flies like their Cessnas.

You simply must be on drugs, or you are naive you shouldn't walk to school
alone.