If you have never flown a plane before, no training or anything, do you think you could land a small plane if for some reason the pilot became unconscious?


I’m pretty certain I could find the ground, but not certain if I could land it without breaking it.

Cirrus has a new one you just press a red button in case pilot is incapacitated and it returns home automatically. To answer you question it depends. If the plane is at a steady altitude under control I think I could with help from the tower. If the dude is leaning over and it’s in a dive I probably ain’t recovering.

I'd play one of the flight simulator games a bunch before trying.

I think I could pull it off.

If a parachute is available I would feel more comfortable just abandoning the plane-

I think the odds are very slim for anyone with no experience or at least familiarity (spoken as a pilot signed off to fly 20+ different aircraft along with aerobatics).

I doubt it seriously. Now if someone was talking me through it, like in the movies, maybe

I've watched several videos where elderly women had to land after their pilot husbands had a heart attack. Of course they received a lot of information from the airport, but none of them had any flying experience. I would like to think if they were able to make it, I could as well.....

I don't get on airplanes anymore. I'll drive thank you.

only if Lloyd Bridges could talk me down

"Help from the tower" may be of no more use than talking to your dog - if you even manage to figure out how to communicate with someone, it's likely not "the tower." It's more uncommon than common that ATC personnel have a pilot's license. There have been successful instances, but they aren't considered very common. We don't know much about many cases as they are likely to be ruled "loss of control for unknown reasons." When there are no survivors there is nobody to explain how ort why the accident played out. Even if you are in level controlled flight, you must eventually approach the ground. An aerodynamic stall is the most likely outcome - that's where the uncontrolled rapid descent come into play. I once witnessed an airliner do just that, entering an accelerated stall just before impact resulting in the loss of all aboard.

I could land it but crashing head first into the ground @200mph might not be one I could walk away from.

The landing is just a controlled crash.

Probably not without help. If you've ever been in the cockpit of even a small plane, there are just too many buttons, levers, etc.. Now with 5 minutes of instruction, I think I probably could.

If someone is a member of a "flying family" they often have significant time in the cockpit that matters a LOT when compared to the average person who's never been in the right seat. Quite frequently a non-rated family member will assist the certified PIC (pilot in command) with light duties to lessen the load on the PIC. Sitting in that seat can't help but enlighten the occupant on the mechanics of how its done.