How to Make an Emergency Landing

By eHow Travel Editor

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"This is niner, twelve, niner to tower. The pilot's unconscious, and the copilot is dead. How do I land this plane?!" Hey, it could happen. Would you know what to do to land a commercial airliner? Just remember, it's only the lives of yourself, the passengers and crew and those people on the ground that are at risk.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately challenging
Step1
Remain calm. Don't do anything for a few seconds to get your bearings. As long as the plane is in steady flight, everything is OK for the time being.
Step2
Put your hands on the control yoke (the stick), right in front of you. It's simple--pull back to ascend, push forward to descend. Ascending sounds safe, but if you do so too aggressively, the engine will stall, a technical flying term that means "die." Keep the stick centered.
Step3
Locate the attitude indicator (usually on the console in front of you), which shows an image of a plane relative to a straight line (an artificial horizon). Nudge the yoke until the plane is level.
Step4
Locate the airspeed indicator, also in front of you. You must maintain airspeed in order to remain flying. Place a hand on the throttles, the largest levers in the center console. If the airspeed is dropping, nudge the levels forward for more power. Increase power until speed is stable in level flight.
Step5
Put on the radio headset, which will already be tuned to an active frequency. If the frequency dial is obvious, switch to 121.5 megahertz, the emergency frequency. The transmit button is on the yoke. Don't worry about radio protocol; just state your situation.
Step6
Wait for a reply and then follow instructions. The air controller may ask you to switch radio frequencies.
Step7
Look at the compass in front of you. You will be given a course to follow, for example, "Turn left (using the yoke) until the compass reads 175 degrees." Expect several course changes to line you up with an airfield.
Step8
Deploy the landing gear. Get confirmation from the ground that it's in place.
Step9
Decrease airspeed to the minimum instructed by ground control.
Step10
Extend the flaps fully once you're lined up with the landing strip.
Step11
Use the yoke to maintain a level or slightly nose-up position, and allow the plane to settle onto the ground. Don't aim down into the ground. Hang on tight when you touch down.
Step12
Apply the brakes fully once all wheels are down. Wait until the plane comes to a full and complete stop.
Step13
Get a drink. Then read 409 Rent a Car in the United States.

Tips & Warnings

  • There are numerous types of commercial airplanes. Your helpers on the ground will probably know what you're flying, but look around the cockpit for clues. If nothing else, get a safety card from one of the passenger seats and read it from there.
  • See 491 Learn to Fly.
  • The Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (aopa.org) offers its Pinchhitter Course to anyone who spends a lot of time in a plane. This is a course for nonpilots who would like to know how to handle an emergency. It's popular among spouses of pilots.

Comments

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wateon

wateon said

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on 6/25/2008 let's assume that this scenario would most likely only happen in a small plane like a Cessna. In an airliner type plane like a Boeing 737, the autopilot panel above the gauges would be your best interface to control the aircraft. This panel will have little windows with a series of numbers next to dials that you can rotate to adjust altitude, vertical speed, airspeed and heading. Attempting to disengage the autopilot to fly the aircraft "hands on" (assuming you have no experience) would most likely result in the unthinkable.

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on 4/7/2008 Contrary to popular belief, a stall in an aircraft does NOT mean the engine will die. In aviation, a stall is what happens when the plane is climbing so steeply that the engine power isn't enough to make it go forward. After all, a plane is not a rocket, and therefore can't go straight up. When the plane stalls, it's a technical term meaning "the wings are no longer generating lift". When this happens, you will need to lower the nose so the plane can go forward again. The return of air passing over the wings will restore lift so you can regain control of the plane.

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on 2/17/2007 Stay carm, as soon as you start getting worried then just stay carm, if you get worried then there is more of a chance of a crash landing. Also if you think that you are too high, don't worrie, it is worse if you are too low becuase if you are high, you can just still carmly decend just at a bigger rate, but if you are too low, and maybe a engine has failed then that is bad, also maybe if you have a airport with a long runway, then try as hard as you can to land there so you have more runway to slow down on then. Also another way to reherse is if you get somthing like flight simulator then learn how to fly in there, that is what iI use and know how to fly with. Belive me, it will work then. Good Luck if you are put in that plane and if you do what the report and all the otther coments say plus this one, you could be a super hero.

Anonymous

Anonymous said

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on 6/30/2006 When you are about 10-20 feet above the runway, pull back on the yoke to make the back wheels touch the ground. Activate spoilers, usually left of the throttle, and brakes and slowly push the yoke forward to land the plane completely.

Anonymous

Anonymous said

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on 6/30/2006 When making a turn, only make a 10-15 degree turn and an 20 degree turn in an emergency (avoiding an aircraft within a 100 ft. radius). When you turn, the aircraft will continue to turn until you center the aircraft by turning the yoke the other way.

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