> it would be an emergency, and the call would be "MAYDAY".

Came here to say this. An untrained person in control of an aircraft most definitely justifies declaring an emergency.

I didn't really like the article. Honestly, if you're in a light aircraft and the pilot conks out you're going to get badly hurt if you survive at all. Landing a plane feels very weird for a very long time. In a big jet you'd have a far better chance: your controller can talk you through setting the autopilot to take you to a big airport, and then have you set autoland. (Of course, that scenario is pure movie fantasy, whereas the first is actually quite likely!)

If anyone is interested in this sort of preparation, I'd recommend taking a $50 intro flying lesson or - better - signing up for the AOPA's "Pinch Hitter" course, which is designed to teach non-flying spouses of pilots how to do just this. It's saved a surprising (alarming) number of lives - a lot of private pilots are fat old men who get heart attacks.

>If anyone is interested in this sort of preparation, I'd recommend taking a $50 intro flying lesson or - better - signing up for the AOPA's "Pinch Hitter" course, which is designed to teach non-flying spouses of pilots how to do just this. It's saved a surprising (alarming) number of lives - a lot of private pilots are fat old men who get heart attacks.

I suggested this in another comment, but I wanted to thank you for mentioning it as it should get more visibility.

"I didn't really like the article. Honestly, if you're in a light aircraft and the pilot conks out you're going to get badly hurt if you survive at all. Landing a plane feels very weird for a very long time. In a big jet you'd have a far better chance: your controller can talk you through setting the autopilot to take you to a big airport, and then have you set autoland. (Of course, that scenario is pure movie fantasy, whereas the first is actually quite likely!)"

That, and a commercial jet is going to have a co-pilot in the cabin, and possibly at least one person more familiar with a cockpit than you flying in a jumpseat. If it's an international flight, then there's usually going to be another flight crew on board, too.

Yep, hence why it's movie fantasy only.

I've done only a couple of hours past first solo a long time ago (money ran out...), but as a neophyte pilot reading this article, the two things that stood out in my experience in inexperience were the PANPAN/MAYDAY thing already mentioned (besides, what layperson will remember PANPAN?), and that landing a plane is hard. Taking off is trivial, flying straight and level is easy, almost easier than finding the radio comms to the tower, but landing is really difficult for an untrained or inexperienced person - there's a lot of things that need to be done at the right time in the right order.

I did find the comment about stalling somewhat amusing. Non-pilots really have no idea what pilots mean when they say 'stall'. When I intentionally stalled in training, I thought the plane would roller-coaster like a paper aeroplane does. Some people think it means the engine loses power. An actual stall is much more subtle and you have to know what you're looking for to notice it.

I did like the comment about the subtle touch needed for the controls though - in my limited time, I never really mastered this.

Sam here, ran out of money midway, but did attempt landings, and it's stupidly hard. So hard, in fact, that if you're in a Cirrus just pull back on the throttle and deploy the ballistic chute, I bet your odds are better.

There's a significant amount of work involved in an autolanding [1], and unlikely that a non-pilot would be able to land a big jet successfully.

[1] http://www.askthepilot.com/questionanswers/automation-myths/

Well, it depends on the light aircraft. A small, 2-person airplane, the kind flown by fat old private pilots? If you can get it coming down toward the ground at a slow enough rate and get the nose up as you're just about to touch down (flaring), you're in pretty good shape. They're light, they can handle a rough landing, and you're just trying to get down without dying.

First thing I thought too - Dead Pilot? That's a damn emergency if there ever was one. You want everyone and anyone listening and nobody talking.

The call sign Lifeguard is used on the radio to make everyone aware of this. No need really to explicitly declare a medical emergency unless you're not getting the priority handling from ATC that call sign is meant to provide. When I was flying air ambulance, we met ambulances at the airport for patient pickup and delivery and they were nearly always going from ICU to ICU.

That said, it's an incredibly demanding job but can be rewarding whenever you make a difference. And it keeps things in perspective. It's difficult to complain about working at 4am, when a kid is fighting for her life behind you with a parent sitting nearby.

This can be changed from country to country due to PANs amendments, but at least in the countries I flew mayday is used in immediate emergency that requires immediate landing (immediate means right now, wherever you are)

An inexperienced person at the controls could very easily lead to an immediate landing.

But really, when all is said and done, I think everyone would forgive inexperienced people for not respecting differences between countries when it comes to correctly using MAYDAY and PANPAN.

I really wouldn't worry about pilot lingo in that situation. Just get on the radio and ask for help. People will respond to that.

You're _technically_ absolutely correct.

In reality, ATC is going to treat a plane with an incapacitated pilot and an un-trained person at the controls as an emergency regardless of the terminology used.