From The Pilot In Command: Fill & Download for Free

Take control? Not legally. The pilot can certainly give you control. “Here, you try it; here’s how the controls work”. It’s even encouraged, in the interest of getting more people interested in flying. I routinely hand the controls over to the right-seat passenger if they want to try it. My father first let me take control when I was seven years old.Now, legally, the pilot in command is still the pilot in command. It’s still the PIC’s job to make sure whoever’s at the controls flies properly and obeys the regulations.Note: I should stress that I’m referring to private pilots flying private flights. An airline pilot certainly cannot let a passenger fly the plane.Here’s a photo of me returning from Burning Man some years ago. My passenger took the controls while I handled the navigation. That’s Lake Tahoe below us.

Yes. At any time during flight and on the ground.Here’s why a passenger may be admitted to the cockpit at any time during any flight operation in direct contravention of all regulations.91.3 Responsibility and authority of the pilot in command.(a) The pilot in command of an aircraft is directly responsible for, and is the final authority as to, the operation of that aircraft.(b) In an in-flight emergency requiring immediate action, the pilot in command may deviate from any rule of this part to the extent required to meet that emergency.Also Part 121 has similar verbiage:121.557 Emergencies: Domestic and flag operations.(a) In an emergency situation that requires immediate decision and action the pilot in command may take any action that he considers necessary under the circumstances. In such a case he may deviate from prescribed operations procedures and methods, weather minimums, and this chapter, to the extent required in the interests of safety.Here’s my response to another question that illustrates the answer to this question.Will a private pilot be asked to help in the cockpit in case of an emergency on a commercial flight? Would he be able to?Randy DuncanI work for a US major airline and one day I flew with a copilot who explained an interesting experience. She was near Lincoln Nebraska when the captain had a heart attack and vomited all over the cockpit. The flight attendants and an able bodied passenger were able to remove the captain from his seat and into the forward galley for medical attention.She asked if there were any pilots available to assist her as she landed the airplane. There happened to be an U.S. Air Force B-1 pilot on the airplane and he took the captains seat and operated the radios and read checklists while she flew the descent and landed the airplane.I asked her about how helpful he was and she said it was nice to have a second set of eyes to look for traffic, operate the radios, read checklists and make sure the gear was down when she landed.The captain recovered fully and after a year of medical work, was able to regain his first class physical and return to flying. The Air Force pilot submitted an application to the airline to be a pilot but I’ve never heard if he was selected or not. I hope so.If a copilot was disabled on one of my flights, I think a private pilot could prove useful in the cockpit. Even though she might not know much about how the airplane works, she would know how to spot traffic, talk on the radio, verify switch positions, read checklists, make sure the landing gear and flaps are down which are pretty similar to what she had done in a small plane. She could also act as a backup of my own actions and witness me doing what I was supposed to be doing if there was any question in the investigation. I think it would be kind of strange to be landing the airplane without a person sitting next to me and watching out for my mistakes. I doubt I would allow her to control the airplane or make important decisions, but a helpful person with knowledge of aviation would doubtlessly improve the safety of the operation and that’s what we’re all about.In this case, the copilot became the pilot in command when the captain became incapacitated and used her emergency authority to operate the airplane in the safest way possible. I think she did an outstanding job.

Raised eyebrows on the part of those passengers who happened to look out the window during the maneuver.A shortened airline career for the pilot in command, and whichever pilot actually flew it.Delirious whoops and applause from me, if I happened to be on board.It’s illegal, but is a positive-gee maneuver that has been done in less capable aircraft than modern airliners. Such as this airliner prototype, back in the year of my birth.