How to Land an Airliner
Courtesy Wired, May 2008 issue, page 50.
Edited by David Barth, written June 14, 2008.
Imagine the unlikely scenario where a flight attendant announces that both pilots have food poisoning, are not capable of flying the plane, and he or she asks if there is anyone on board who is willing to try to land it? The chances are excellent that there will be a current or former airline pilot on board who can handle this emergency. However, if that is not the case, these are suggestions for getting the plane down.
The article in Wired magazine lists the following actions for a non-pilot to land an airliner. However, in my opinion, some of these ideas are over-simplified, and I point out these areas. My opinions, in brackets, are derived from more than 25 years and 3,000 flight hours. My experience includes teaching as a flight instructor with commercial, instrument, and advanced ground instructor licenses.
- Wired says to call for help. Put on your headset and switch on the radio.
[Switch on the radio? It should already be turned on and set to an Air Traffic Control (ATC) frequency as per regulations. Besides, where would the on/off switch be located among the hundreds of switches and buttons in the cockpit of an airliner? If the radio isn't already turned on, this is a big problem. The suggestion to "switch on the radio" is probably easier said than done. I can't think of one instance where the radio would not be turned on and set to an ATC frequency. That's the law with airliners. If you don't have radio contact, you have a bigger problem.]
- Wired's instructions say to tune the radio to the emergency frequency, 121.5.
To ask a non-pilot to remember the emergency radio frequency, to find the radio setting dials, and to reset the frequency is asking for trouble, especially in the unfamiliar environment of the cockpit and the maze of buttons, switches, and knobs. The best you can do is to hope the pilots have not turned the radio off.
After putting on a headset, listen and wait for any other conversations over the radio to stop, push the button on the yoke, and as calmly as possible, say something like, "This is an airliner with incapacitated pilots. This is an emergency. I need help." Saying anything along these lines will get everyone's attention.
ATC will probably ask you to confirm that you have an emergency. If the controller is astute, he
won't ask you to do things you might not know how to do, such as squawk a discrete transponder code or switch to a different radio frequency. He won't want to lose communications with you if you goof up the radio messing with changing the frequency.
He will sound very calm as he asks you for the current status of the aircraft - is it in level flight? If so, he can breathe a silent sigh of relief that you're not going to crash immediately.
He will start dumping all other aircraft off of the radio frequency you are on so that he and you can talk without any interruptions. And those other aircraft? No way are they going to stop listening to the frequency you're on. Sure, they'll switch to the new frequency they've been given and check in with the other controller, but you can bet they're also listening to you because they know you're in a tight spot, and they want to hear everything.
Some air space control authority will request that the Air Force launch one or two fighters to intercept and follow your plane. If you don't obey the routing instructions you are given, or if you head toward a city without permission, the fighters will probably be ordered to shoot you down. Hey, things are a lot different since 9/11.
- Wired's next suggestion is to set the autopilot.
This action is too early to consider at this stage of the flight. Wired is correct in saying that they will call someone to guide you down, but do what that person says. Don't second-guess what you're going to be told what to do. Place yourself in his or her hands and let them tell you what to do.
In the beginning, they will be asking you all sorts of questions so that they can determine the status of the aircraft, like is it already on autopilot (a possibility), is it flying level, what is the speed of the plane, etc. In addition, they will be checking you out by asking personal details so that they can verify who you really are.
The answers to these questions will tell them if there are any immediate corrections they need to have you make before heading for an airport. They will probably guide you to a large airport in the general vicinity of your plane. Unless you are close to your destination airport, and it is a large airport, you'll probably be sent to another airport with long runways and lots of emergency equipment.
Expect that if the autopilot is not already on, the guy on the radio will tell you how to turn it on. After that, to change course, you'll simply dial in a number on the panel instead of working the yoke. There are advantages to spending a bit of time in level flight. It helps get your nerves settled, it uses up fuel you don't need (or want), and it allows the emergency services to go into high gear for the place you'll be heading.
Hospitals will be alerted, ambulances will be dispatched, hospital helicopters will be on standby, emergency operating rooms at hospitals will be reserved, teams of doctors and surgeons will be called in to duty, and fire, police, and rescue units will be rushed to the scene. This is no small deal. It is big, and you'll be in the middle of it. The trick is to stay cool.
- Wired's third item on the list is to program your approach with advice from the instructor talking to you on the radio.
The big assumption is that the aircraft has Auto-Land, a computer that will automatically land the plane. A lot of airliners have it, but many do not. If the plane you're in does not have Auto-Land, you'll be given instructions on how to land the plane, and everyone on the ground will be sweating bullets. Landing a plane manually isn't like driving a car. Flying is a three dimensional activity, unlike driving, which is done in only two dimensions. If you are lucky enough to be on a plane that has Auto-Land, and the guy on the radio can guide you through the process of setting it up, and you're almost home free.
- Wired's guide suggests you'll have to monitor the speed of the aircraft and lower the flaps and gear at the appropriate times.
If you have Auto-Land, that system will probably do all of that for you. If you don't have Auto-Land, your hands will be full trying to guide the plane down to the runway. All sorts of emergency equipment will be ready and waiting for your arrival, but if they've been told that a non-airline pilot is flying, they will probably be positioned way back from the runway, just in case you're a bit off, left or right, when you touch down. The guy talking you down to the runway will try to get your plane on what they call a "stabilized approach" whereby the plane is heading for the runway without the nose bobbing up and down much, and without having to make many adjustments to the left or right.
What are the odds that a non-pilot can set up a stabilized approach with the help of a guy on the radio? Perhaps luck plays a part in this. He will advise you when and how to lower the flaps and the gear and make power adjustments.
And what if you are told that your approach is botched and you'll have to go around? That, in itself, is a tricky maneuver for someone not familiar with the aircraft. But let's assume that you are coming down the approach path, more or less stabilized.
When you reach a certain altitude above the runway (it varies with the type of aircraft you are
in), you'll be told over the radio to pull the nose up slightly. What the heck does "slightly" mean? Generally speaking, you'll be asked to pull back on the yoke slightly so that the plane flies level over the runway. You'll probably bobble the nose up and down a bit as you try to fly level over the runway. At some point, you'll be asked to grab the big, throttle knobs on the center console, and pull them all the way back. This will reduce engine thrust and the plane will settle to the runway or whatever surface you are over at the time.
While all this is going on, you'll be using the rudder pedals to keep the plane over the runway and moving the yoke slightly, fore and aft, to keep the nose level. Sound difficult? It is for someone not familiar with the aircraft. Your chances of getting the aircraft down in one piece vary considerably depending on the situation, your background, your ability to concentrate, and other factors.
- Wired suggests that you "brake carefully."
If your plane has Auto-Land installed, it will take care of braking. But if you don't have Auto-Land, braking is done by pressing on the upper half of the rudder pedals. Try to press them evenly so that you don't cause the plane to swerve. The issue is just getting the big beast on the runway without pancaking it in. Blowing the tires is no big deal. In fact, blowing the tires will help slow the plane, but it could cause the plane to depart the runway, assuming you actually put it down on the runway.
This is the end of Wired's instructions on how to land a plane, but they left out one very important point. When a flight attendant is assigned to work on an aircraft, he or she must be checked out in the safety systems, doors, slides, and other items on that plane. In addition, they are given basic instructions on how to communicate and control the aircraft. This means that in the very unlikely event that both (or all) the pilots are incapacitated, and there are no other airline pilots on board (the flight attendants will know), it is most likely that two flight attendants will go to the cockpit to fly the plane. Naturally, ATC, the airline, and all aviation authorities on the ground would prefer to work with a bonafide airline employee than with an unknown passenger. Of course, the transition of control from incapacitated pilots to flight attendants will be accomplished as quietly as possible so that the passengers are not alarmed.
When a flight attendant asks if anyone on board can fly the plane, you should hope that there is an airline pilot, from any airline, on board. If not, and you're the only hope for survival, go for it. Remember to take a flight attendant up to the cockpit with you. They know enough to be extremely helpful.