I have a limited knowledge of flying as such, having played with some flight simulators on PC. If the pilots die in flight, is it possible to ground the airliner using radio instructions? Is there any chance that this could work or is it totally impossible and I am doomed to die?
Answer
Hi Stefan,
As a private pilot, I’ve wondered that too. And, even if I have a real flying license (albeit for single-engine propeller planes), landing a scheduled airliner would be no small feat for me. This link (http://stoenworks.com/Is%20there%20a%20pilot%20on%20board.html) will give you an idea of ​​how things could go.
Perhaps there is a chance that, with instructions via the radio, you can set the autopilot so that the plane with ‘auto-landing’ more or less lands itself. But there are some conditions attached to this (suitable autopilot, weather conditions, runway equipped with ILS (instrument landing system), or better still: aircraft equipped with an airport suitable for GPS precision approach and landing system, etc.).
Landing the plane manually is a very big risk in my opinion if you have never practiced that (see Tom Waes in Tomtesteron trying to land a B-737 after hours of simulator training).
It happened a few years ago with a sports plane. Pilot falls ill, inexperienced passenger lands the plane:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oep0gWvauXQ and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z5eu3mHyI0w
But let us hope that such a situation never arises. It’s not for nothing that there are two pilots in the cockpit of an airliner.
Professional airline pilots are still the best guarantee of a safe flight!
Best regards,
R. Pype
Answered by
Roeland Pypea
ICT and multimedia Graphic and digital media Internet journalism Aerospace and aviation
http://www.arteveldehs.be
.