28/10/2013
Take a seat. The Captain usually sits in the left seat where the concentration of instruments are (especially for light single engine aircraft). Fasten your seat-belt and shoulder harness if so equipped. However, almost all aircraft have dual controls and you can successfully land the plane from either side. Do not touch the controls yet! The autopilot will most likely be engaged. Leave it on for now.
Make sure the unconscious pilot is not leaning on the control yoke (the plane's equivalent of a steering wheel). Some aircraft may have a side stick, which will be a joystick to the left of the captain's seat
2. Take a breather. You'll probably be overwhelmed with the sensory overload and the seriousness of the situation. Remembering to breathe will help you focus. Take a slow, deep inhalation to tell your body you're in control.
3. Level the aircraft. If the plane is noticeably ascending, descending, or turning, gently bring the plane into a level flight attitude using the outside horizon as your guide. Finally, all those days of video games are about to pay off!
Look for the attitude indicator. Sometimes called the artificial horizon, it consists of a miniature set of "wings" and a picture of the horizon. The top is blue (for the sky) and the bottom is brown. On some complex aircraft, the attitude indicator is displayed on a computer screen in front of the pilot. For older aircraft, it is in the center of the top row of instruments. On modern-day airliners, there will be a Primary Flight Display (PFD) directly ahead of you. This displays vital information such as Indicated Airspeed (IAS) measured in knots, Ground Speed (GS), also measured in knots, altitude (measured in feet) and heading. It should also display whether or not the autopilot is engaged, usually denoted by AP or CMD.
Correct the pitch (climb or descent) and bank (turning) if necessary so that the miniature wings are level with the artificial horizon. If they are already level, do not touch the controls at all; move to the next step. If you do need to level the plane, however, adjust the flight attitude by pulling the yoke (or stick) toward you to bring the nose up or push it forward to lower the nose. You can correct bank (turning) by rotating the yoke left or right to turn in that direction. Simultaneously, you must apply slight back pressure to the yoke to prevent the airplane from losing altitude.
4. Turn on autopilot. If you have been trying to correct the flight path, the autopilot is probably disengaged. Turn it on by pushing buttons labeled "AUTOPILOT" or "AUTO FLIGHT," "AFS" or "AP" or something alike. On passenger airplanes it is situated in the center of the glare-shield panel, in a position where both pilots can easily reach it.
Only if this results in the aircraft doing things you do not want it to do, disengage it again by pushing all buttons you can find on the yoke (which then probably will include the autopilot disconnect button). Usually the best way to get an aircraft to fly in a stabilized way is to not touch the controls; it is designed to be stable and most people who are not trained pilots tend to over-control the plane.
