Can a private pilot safely land a jet?

Question

Someone with no multi engine training. Would they be capable of landing an airliner?

Lol I'm NOT planning on doing this ever, it was just something I was curious about.
Thanks!

Answer 1

By land are we happy to hit the runway or do we actually need to stop on the runway without setting fire to the aircraft? Do we assume good weather?



This has been tested several times. It really depends on the quality and interests of the private pilot. There are some significant differences in how small aircraft and heavy jets are flown, if the private pilot you test doesn't know anything about these then he's going to be in a lot of trouble. A Cessna pilot might well not know about spoilers and thrust reverse, without either of these he's going to have a heck of a time stopping a 747 before it runs off the end of the runway. He'd also have a good chance of stalling in, especially on a heavy landing where an approach speed faster than he's ever flown would be required.



But what did the tests show? Mostly the GA pilot did fine. Mostly they already knew the essentials. Mostly they bothered to find the checklist and worked out what it meant.



In the video below the guy already has the interest in bigger jets and he is being talked down.



In the second link the guy who wrote the X-plane A380 model got to fly the Thales A380 simulator. Now that's supposed to be pretty much identical to flying the real thing... less the chance of getting killed or causing hundreds of millions of dollars of damage. But he did fine. So far as I know he's not even a pilot. Sorry airline pilot dudes, your job turns out not to be vastly and fantastically impossible for an amateur.



Third link is a flight attendant landing an A320 simulator. Really, if you can get the autoland configured and get the aircraft configured for landing my mother could sit there and watch the autopilot drop the aircraft on the runway. If the autobrakes are set too then it will stop, especially if she closes the throttles.



(You give documented evidence that some can and still people don't like the answer. Sorry, that's just the way it is, some people who aren't commercial pilots can do the job. Winning a dog fight as a private pilot would be a heck of a lot harder, I don't think there's a chance a newb would beat a five year veteran at that.)

Answer 2

Airliners are highly automated. As long as they are not damaged, even a non-pilot could land them, provided that he had someone to give him instructions over the radio or in some other way. Most modern airliners can be flown and landed entirely by the autopilot and computers, if necessary.



Landing an airliner by hand is much more difficult and requires some practice. A pilot with no airliner experience might or might not be able to do it. I'd guess that in most cases, he'd manage it, but not necessarily without damage to the aircraft (although he might not be injured himself). Here again, if someone were helping him with instructions, that would make a big difference. Good weather would make a clean landing achievable, but in bad weather it would be a lot more delicate.



Of course, if the private pilot has already been trained and certified to fly the airliner (unlikely but theoretically possible), he could land it without any trouble.

Answer 3

Obviously it goes without saying that you would be a little out of your comfort zone. However, the basic controls and rules still apply to both light aircraft and the heavies. It really depends on pilot skill and confidence. If you know the correct instruments and controls, you would be able to make a fairly average landing. If you are ever in the situation where you would ever need to land a, say 747-400, you would be a valuable asset to the plane and passengers, but there are obviously more qualified people than yourself.

Answer 4

With all due respect to Skipper, and I mean that, I'm not even a pilot and I've flown the A320 simulator and landed the B747 simulator at LAX. But both were simulating clear days with ZERO crosswind. Fully functioning aircraft and no distracting radio chatter. Plots make it look easy, but it AIN'T easy. It's hard. It takes talent. There can be a heavy work load at times...in real world line flying. Real world line flying would saturate a non pilot very fast. The pros do this day in, day out. Night time or day time. Good weather and bad. Rain sleet snow....you name it, they get the job done. Yeah, many people have what it takes to land one of these things, but ask much more of them without the proper training and experience and they WILL crash. Not might, WILL.

Answer 5

Light planes and airline equipment are two different birds. The difference in response rate, roll rate etc. makes a private pilot's chance of success problematic. Airline equipment is complex. Most maneuvers require pre planning. "It looks about right" or "it feels OK" won't get the job done. Most airline equipment flies approach faster than the redline of most light planes. The delay in power lever response alone will doom most private pilots. An occasional airline pilot too! Think about landing flare! In a 747, on the ground, you are already 4 stories off the runway. At landing angle of attack, you are 'way up there when the main's touch.

Answer 6

For any jet (large or small), I'd say that the private pilot would be able to get the job done provided he has some familiarity with the operating characteristics of the jet at approach and landing speeds and attitudes. I would want to have the proper airspeeds for the traffic pattern, know when to extend flaps and landing gear, and have somebody in the right seat to help me.

Answer 7

Could be made, yes...



Very happy that almost everybody knows how to land 747 and A380 -

Next time I am passenger, I will feel happy being surrounded by so many experts -

Not only private pilots, but the grand'mothers too can do...!



Not only you know how to autoland these airplanes -

But also operate spoilers, did you forget brakes...?

I thought autoland and autothrottles did all that automatically, including idle power...?

But is just my fertile imagination -



I know some poilets - I will recommend they get these simulator games -

So they learn to be experts too -



I gave all of you a thumbs up...

Thank you for educating me -



After all, I heard that John Travolta is private pilot and can land his 707 -

And that airplane is not equipped for autoland, autothrottle and autobrakes -

.

Answer 8

With some help........ The basics don't change, but there are a lot of systems to handle.

Answer 9

depends where you want him to land the jet