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01-21-2016, 02:39 PM

#5

MaxThrustPower

Gets Weekends Off

Joined APC: Aug 2014

Posts: 104

Quote:

Originally Posted by JohnBurke

... It's rare that there aren't several pilots riding on an airliner; in most all cases there are pilots riding in passenger seats, and often on a spare seat in the cockpit, as we go home or to work, and there are often private or commercially rated pilots on board, too. It would be very rare that both pilots in the cockpit are incapacitated, and there's nobody else on board who could fly the aircraft.

^^^^ what he said ^^^

Excellent reply by JohnBurke.

It's admirable that you'd want to step in if needed.

Odds are, you'll probably never run into a case where not only both pilots are incapacitated and there are also no other active (or retired) commercial pilots on board, not to mention any other current (or former) military pilots or civilian general aviation pilots, any of whom would be preferable to take the controls over someone with no experience whatsoever actually piloting an airplane.

It's great that you are fascinated by aviation and understand the principles of flight. But I can't overstate how very superficial that (very) general knowledge of some of the basics is compared to what we learn as pilots. There's a lot more complexity to it that might meet the eye, as evidenced by JohnBurke's reply above. Pilots fly a complex airplane with their "head" (mentally) as much as physically. It takes practice, mentally and physically, to do it even reasonably safely.

I might understand human physiology but I don't think you'd want me to practice surgery on you unless there was no other choice!