Passenger lands plane in Fla. after pilot dies

[rayrey10]

Another disaster is averted

FORT MYERS, Fla. – A passenger landed a twin-engine plane in Florida after the pilot died in flight with a total of six people on board.
Federal Aviation Administration officials say the pilot died after takeoff from an airport in Naples on Sunday. It was on autopilot and climbing toward 10,000 feet when the pilot died.
The passenger who took over is licensed for single-engine planes but isn't certified to fly the larger King Air craft.
An air traffic controller helped the passenger down by calling a friend in Connecticut who knows the King Air plane and relaying instructions. The plane landed safely at Southwest Florida International Airport in Fort Myers.
The plane had been headed to Jackson, Miss. The names of the pilot and passengers have not been released.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/passenger_lands_plane

[JimC1702]

I wonder if the passenger was also a Flight Simmer.

Jim

[TARPSBird]

Attaboy to the passenger who brought the plane in safely.
I'm just a flight simmer, not a licensed pilot, but if I were stuck in a real plane with a real dead pilot, I could learn a lot about real flying real quick. :d

[cheezyflier]

I wonder if the passenger was also a Flight Simmer.

Jim

classic!

[Crusader]

I wonder if the passenger was also a Flight Simmer.

Jim

He had to have been . Probably a member here at SOH .
We are always prepared here at the Outhouse !

Rich

[Crusader]

Attaboy to the passenger who brought the plane in safely.
I'm just a flight simmer, not a licensed pilot, but if I were stuck in a real plane with a real dead pilot, I could learn a lot about real flying real quick. :d

Amen to that TARPSBird . I would become the best listener I've ever been in my life when talking to ATC . Hats off to a very brave and couragous man . I am really glad they all made it in safe .

Rich

[rayrey10]

Attaboy to the passenger who brought the plane in safely.
I'm just a flight simmer, not a licensed pilot, but if I were stuck in a real plane with a real dead pilot, I could learn a lot about real flying real quick. :d

Amen to that TARPSBird . I would become the best listener I've ever been in my life when talking to ATC . Hats off to a very brave and couragous man . I am really glad they all made it in safe .

Rich

Funny that you guys mention that, but a friend of mine who is a "real" pilot asked me if I was in a situation like in the article would I be able to fly the plane and land it. My answer was basically what you guys said. It wouldn't be pretty but we'd "get er done".

[GT182]

Funny that you guys mention that, but a friend of mine who is a "real" pilot asked me if I was in a situation like in the article would I be able to fly the plane and land it. My answer was basically what you guys said. It wouldn't be pretty but we'd "get er done".

Same here Ray. I'd give it one h3ll of a try to gitter done... with no thoughts of pretty either. My pilots friends say they trust a flight simmer a bit more. They say it's basically the same, but if you screw up on a computer you always get a chance to try again.

[Panther_99FS]

[Brian_Gladden]

During my one (1) official hour of flight training, due to my sim experience I did everything but the last 500 feet of the landing approach (bad crosswinds) and talk on the radio. My instructor was also an avid Simmer (he has done the Around the world race before) so he knew what I had the potential to handle. Add in that we'd been good friends for quite some time so it was a really good lesson. That said. I could probably get it on the ground. The question if the airplane would be useable again afterwards might be up for debate though....:faint:

The article described the plane as being a King Air. I've spent a lot of time in those (Cleaning them) and the systems are very straight forward. Put me in the seat of one and I could probably start it for you.


Brian

[GT182]

Let me watch them light up the Mig-21 here a couple hundred more times and also practice it on my computer, and I could probably light it up too. :costumes: A 172 or 206 wouldn't be a problem. I'd need to think about it a bit, but I used to fire them up and taxi them around years ago. And to me that was special in it's own right.