ANSWERS: 50
  • Unless there is someone more qualified, absolutely. I'm going to die if nobody does it so why not give it a try.
  • Absolutely not. I am no good in a crisis. I would suggest that the steward(ess) is a better candidate both because he/she is an employee of the airline and also because he/she is trained to handle emergencies in the air. I say, let him/her land the plane and the rest of us will pray. Besides which there are other crew members besides pilots in the cockpit. Let them try.
  • even if i volunteer the co passengers would veto me out seeing my terrified face and trembling hands
  • 747 is used for long haul flights, so there are 4 pilots on board. Two are taking their contractual break while the other two are in control of the airplane. And besides, 747 has such large load capacity, that the chance of few more pilots in the cabin is high. I think if they all didn't have "the fish" for their meal, it'll be fine! (from the movie, "Airplane!")
  • Yes, I'd give it a shot. My understanding is that avionics on modern commercial aircraft are so sophisticated and accurate that the plane can practically land itself. I think I could do the simple mechanical things (drop the landing gear, press the brake pedal, etc.) necessary if guided by experts.
  • Only if there's no one else with more experience... I mean, if Karen Black can do it... Truth is, though, it would probably be fine. With the automation they have on those things, I believe they can land themselves, very nearly.
  • hell yeah...its a once a lifetime opportunity to fly a plane...
  • Sure... but someone other than a corpse better be in the co-pilot's seat!
  • il give it a go.
  • Right after I put on my parachute and opened the exit door and right before I jumped I would say,"the plane is going down...get your chutes and follow me">
  • Hell YEAH!
  • yes. I worked for an airline for 31 years...BUT only if Karen Black wasn't available.
  • I thought Arthur Hailey was dead, "Airport 2007-Cardiac Arrest", and due to a lightning strike the transponder does not work, you are believed to be terrorist, fun and hilarity ensue.
  • oh you betcha. I spent so much time playing that Flight Simulator game I could do it without help from ground control :o)
  • Yeah, but they better get ready to pay me some serious bucks!
  • Yes if ALL the pilots on board were down. I would be very nervous with something that large but think with help I could get her down safely.
  • Sure i would, but after i go to the bathroom and start s**ting those bricks.
  • I would give it a try. I am good in a crisis, and I follow orders well.
  • Many long haul aircraft have an autoland feature. At airports with the right navigation equuipment, the airplane can almost land itself. Would I voluteer? Yes - But as others point out, I would probably be one of several experienced pilots onboard. Flying is the second most thrilling experience - Landing is the most exciting!
  • I really hate to say this, but this question comes up a lot in the commercial aviation business. No offense to anyone here who has answered this question because I am going to offer a commercial pilots opinion from someone who has flown the 747 in the past. It would be a nearly impossible task for an untrained civilian to land this aircraft without crashing. Although this airliner has quite a bit of automation, being able to work, program, and manage a flight is not a task that even an experienced private pilot can perform. Basic steering of the aircraft is not the difficult part. Almost anyone can execute a basic turn or climb, these are not difficult. I go even further to say that a commercial pilot who has not been trained on this aircraft would also struggle, although he has a fighting chance. For those who say that planes can land themselves, this statement is correct. HOWEVER, (read this carefully) the autoflight system can land the aircraft if it is properly configured to do so. This process is not so simple as pushing a few buttons. You still have to go through the entire landing configuration, setting flaps, setting spoilers, as well as configuring all of the controls into the landing setting. A lot more is done than simply putting down the gear and aiming yourself at the runway. Autoflight systems have to be programmed with the correct speeds, headings, and altitudes during descent. Not to mention that in order to land with autopilot, localizer and glideslope settings have to be entered in for the airport runway you are landing on. An additional autoflight navigational system also must be enabled for the aircraft to land. Combine this with all of the other setting I mentioned and you will see its not just a matter of pushing a few switches. I also want to mention that everyone seems to think that they can pick up a headset and start talking to air traffic control. This is incorrect as well. If you were to take over during cruise flight, the radio will be set to the long range ARTCC or "Center" which is used after climbout from the airport. Frequencies have to be changed for the airport approach control in order to get clearances and instructions. Just finding the mic button is not as easy as you think. Heres a photo of a United Airlines 747 cockpit. This is what you would see when you enter the flight deck. http://www.airliners.net/photo/United_Airlines/Boeing_747-422/0984391/large/ Now, let me point out a few things to note. The autopilot system, referred to as autoflight, is not just one little button. Its an entire panel. Look in the middle of the control panel above the middle screen of the five. Autoflight is that panel in the center at the top below the windows where they divide. All of those white knobs, black buttons, rollers, and little screens with numbers control the autopilots. As you can see, its not so simple. I have flown 747s, 757s, 767s, DC-9s, DC-10s, and CRJs. If I were placed in the cockpit of an A-340, I may be able to land, but I would probably either crash or bounce on impact to the runway. In addition to using all of these systems, if you were to manually land, its not so easy either. Setting the aircraft down on the runway at the right speed with the right amount of flight control input is DIFFERENT among models. Just the right bit of thrust, the correct angle, and the right amount of pitch is needed to land. For a civilian to make it from 35,000 feet all the way to the runway is impossible. Flight simulators are no preparation for an airliner's cockpit.
  • Sure I'll give it the good 'ol college try. I have a pilots license, which means nothing when dealing with a 747, but I have played many video games in my day.
  • Obsolutely yes! What a great life experience. No way would I pass it up!
  • If I were on a commercial flight where the flight crew is incapacitated or killed, I'd give landing a shot if there wasn't someone more experienced available. Not too long ago, the Mythbusters showed it was possible, though has never actually happened.
  • I think I'd rather let the autopilot thing have a go at it first and if that too failed I would suggest a group effort involving all the passengers at once and attempt to create a Borg collective. We could then just assimilate the pilot if he was still alive. If he wasn't, then we could pass some electrical current through the corpse and connect him (wirelessly) to the internet via the cockpit computer. Once we have him online, all we have to do is share him via P2P/torrent networks and with 2 minutes, somebody would hack his brain, get the info out and hey presto, we would be able to download it from Mininova or The Pirate Bay more or less, straight away - thus enabling us to land safely at Heathrow.
  • Oh yes...definitive..! Because in the past i got several instructions in a real 747 Flight Simulator in the USA. 2'nd: i'am a sport pilot; and last but certainly not the least: just look at my many 747 demo videos i did upload on YOU TUBE and maybe you will agree...(!) Alex Alberto.
  • yes id rather give it a go than let the plane crash and die.
  • I would, it would be a great opportunity to test my flight simulator skills in real life.
  • Fer sher! Although, chances are I kill everybody sooner than later. Still, if there is a later, than we've got nothing but time to lose! And I'd at least be able to fly a plane before I die.
  • Here are the instructions on how to do it: http://www.sampottsinc.com/info/plus.html Bookmark this page. When it happens, fire up your laptop, surg to this page, and the job is done. Easy.
  • Sign me up..somebody has to do it and with a radio and some help I'd rather try than give up...
  • yes, I have had some training flying a cessina 172 and 152 several takeoffs landings and stall practices.
  • Whats your vector Victor?
  • Most people can't manage to keep a Ford Escort under control.
  • I would volunteer my husband, he tells me he has been dying for this to happen! He does have a PPL
  • I would wait to see if there was anyone on board who knew anything at all about flight. However, if no one volunteered, I wouldn't want to just crash without trying to land. Even if I botched it, we were all dead anyway.
  • Mythbusters did a show on this in a flight simulator. I believe the flight simulator was a 767 and they first tried flying and landing without help from the instructor. They both crashed. They then flew the plane with instructions from the instructor and was able to land the plane safely. With the avionics and computer systems in current planes I think it would be possible for an untrained person to land a 747 if there is a 747 instructor pilot taling them through it. Needless to say, I wouldn't want to be on that plane.
  • hell yeah- ill try- i can do a better job than most and follow instructions well- even if its gonna crash , my crash would be the least damaging of anyone on board who tried.
  • I am sure she would ask if anyone on the plane was a pilot or had flown a plane before..then if not she would probably be the better person for the job. If she had been a stewerdess for any length of time at all she should have picked up something along the way.
  • No. While I have been accused of flying a broom from time to time, I would pray someone better qualified than me would step up and save all those lives. I'm a trained medic, so I would try to revive the pilots.
  • Depends on how many drinks the flight attendant has served me...I'll do just about anything after a few Stoli's on the rocks! Folks! This is your substitute pilot speaking. Please prepare for landing! Tower: INCOMING! :-)
  • I currently fly the 747-400. The chances of an untrained person successfully landing the aircraft are close to zero. That automation that you all seem to think will help you requires a lot of work and knowledge to manage. Not only do you need to use the autopilot panel (explained above, called the MCP), but much of what is needed is hidden away in the flight management computers, and it isn't readily at hand. And as for asking for help...I was once asked this question by a steward. So, I asked him to have a look around, and to find the radio transmit button. Like so many people, he knew that the pilots use the radio with their hands on the yoke, so there must be a button there. He looked and duly found a likely choice. So, when he was happy with his decision, I pressed the chosen button for him. It was the autopilot disconnect...so with his first button choice, he'd pretty much killed everybody.
  • If no one else volunteered, I sure would!
  • hell yeah i would be runnin up there either i sucseed and get all the ladys or i lose and no one finds out cuz were all dead
  • If both pilots and the flight engineer (yah, a third guy on longer flights or flights over water) were dead, I think we'd probably have more to worry about than trying to fly the plane. If they weren't dead, we'd have a better shot at reviving one of them than landing it ourselves. The chances of an untrained person (or even a single-engine recreational pilot) landing a 747 safely is pretty low. Given a couple of hours to familiarize myself with the controls and flight characteristics, I could probably crash it successfully, but that's the best you could hope for I think. Hope this helps.
  • I probably would. Doesn't mean I'd be successful as Fly suggested. I'm sure it wouldn't be easy. But given that there are no pilots and if no one else is qualified, why not give it a shot?
  • Unless the pilots were dead, I would rather an actual pilot in the midst of a heart attack make a quick intentional crash landing than trust someone to figure out something so complex on the fly. If they were both dead, i would say yes only if i was the person on board who had the best chance to successfully do it...in other words, i would rather die piloting than die with someone else piloting because we are likely going to die!
  • I would at least make an effort and die trying as to just sit there with my head between my legs waiting for the end.
  • I'd volunteer my husband.He could do it.
  • hell yes! i can't fly, but i've played plenty of simulators like Keenan from snakes on a plane!
  • Nope, I'd be too busy drinking...that'd be one of my fears coming to life. Me on a plane as its going down! UGH!!!:( I'd hope there was someone on the plane who might have some piloting experience, but if not suppose I could try, knowing there aren't enough parachutes for all of us. Not that I know how to use one of those eitheir. ...but I'm drinking and flying. If I have to die it'll be with an alcoholic beverage. Just sucks that I have to calm myself down with booze, couldn't face it sober, right?! :) jk

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