What happens if you’re on a commercial flight and the pilots of your plane are knocked out? That was a question posed on Quora, a question-and-answer website, prompting a pilot to make a detailed tutorial on how an amateur can safely land an airplane.
“The good news is the plane will probably have a sophisticated autopilot that can take care of most of the flying for you,” wrote Tim Morgan, a commercial pilot and software developer. “The bad news is you will still probably have to land it, and every aircraft cockpit is going to be different, so it’s not like you'd know exactly where to look to find the things you need.”
Morgan chose to make his instruction for the cockpit of the 747 because it was an extremely common commercial aircraft. It simulates a passenger commuting with Air Traffic Control as he tries to land the plane, along with Morgan’s narration.
The first step is simple: press the push-to-talk button so that you can talk to Air Traffic Control, who will direct other airplanes out of your path and tell you where you should fly.
