If you were in a hijacked plane, with the pilots dead, would you kill the hijacker and try to land the plane?

Question

Even if you do not have any flying experience, would you try to land the plane safely? You would save the lives of many by doing so. Think that you and the other passengers teamed up to hit the hijacker on the head and kill him, who had a bomb and had already killed the pilots. Think that the other passengers allowed you to land the plane. Think of the rewards: fame, a private jet from the president, a mansion, rolls-royces, money, etc. (Let's say you have a flight simulator at home and you know a bit of flying before the incident.) Those who give a very detailed explanation of why they would/would not choose to do it will get the "best answer" from me.

Answer 1

Let's assume the hijacker is acting alone, I'll definitely bring the hijacker down, neutralise the bomb if possible & try to land the plane, 'cos I'll rather take that chance than to let the hijacker crash the plane & kill every single one of us.

If there are several of them in the plane, I'll need the assistance of other passengers who are able to help me accomplish the task by taking the potential threats out first quickly. Once they're neutralised, I'll have all passengers secured to their seats & have someone get rid of the bomb thru the door & detonate it, while I take up a ready position near the cockpit with other helpers. Opening the door in a pressurized cabin will cause the plane to fall out of control until it reaches a lower altitude, this will also throw the hijacker out of balance.

With the bomb now out of the picture, we'll tackle the remaining hijacker in the cockpit & take over the controls. I'll make an SOS call on radio & ask for a pilot to talk me down to land the plane in the nearest airport. By now, there'll probably be fighter jets escorting us, & those pilots will be able to guide us to a safe landing.

I'll bet everyone will take that kind of chance than no chance at all to survive the situation. Guess I'll stand a 60-70% chance to win, so, why not try it?

Answer 2

yes, but i am not sure how well the killing the hijacker, AND getting the plane to land safely would work out....

Answer 3

Yes.  I would try.

I may not succeed in removing the hijackers from control of the airplane.  They might kill me.  (I would prefer to take them alive and turn them over to the authorities.)  And I might make a big hole in the ground when trying to land, but I would try.  One of the things is that I would try to use all of the resources available in order to succeed.  If other passengers have flight experience, then they can fly the plane.  I will place my life into their hands.  If other passengers can do things that I can't, then I will try to help them succeed where I would fail, because if they win I also win.

My reasons for doing so fall into two categories:  selfish; and selfless.  I don't want to die.  I want to help others to live also.

In this life we can act for our own selfish and greedy ends, for our own personal gain, or we can act to help our fellows.

I have no reason to believe that hijackers today merely want money, or to be flown somewhere for political asylum.  More likely they intend to use the aircraft as a weapon, and ram a target, which would kill all aboard and perhaps many more on the ground also.

I will die someday.  I don't know when, or where, or how.  But I will die.  We all will.  The only question is will I go out fighting for what is right?  Or will I lay down and be an easy victim of some bully?

Terrorists are convinced that all the people that they kill will serve them in paradise.  They seek to kill for personal glory.  I will kill to survive, or to save another.

The idea of fame and fortune do not enter into the matter.  I am not motivated by them.  Upon successfully landing I would try to help the other passengers disembark.  Is there an older person who needs help with their carry-on bag?  Is there a child who needs to hold the hand of an adult so that they can feel safe while they look for their parent?  Is there a handicapped person who needs someone to roll the wheelchair up the ramp?  And then, after everyone was safe, I would like to walk away and continue with my own life.  

I have things to do-places to go-people to meet.  I don't know if I have the time to be famous because there are so many good people out there that I might like that I have not yet met.

Let the reporters interview other passengers.  Give any glory that there is to others.

The only reward that I would need is being able to look in the mirror and smile at the person who looks back at me, because I have done the best that I could with what I had.

When I appear before the Almighty I want to be able to look at my Creator and honestly say, "God, I am ready to be judged.  I have sinned, and fallen short many times.  I am not worthy of paradise because of my own actions, but can be admitted only by your grace.  Oh, and by the way, these people here tried to murder and kill in Your Holy Name.  They are looking for milk and honey and 40 virgins each.  I brought them along so that You can judge them too.  Condemn me if you must, Oh Lord God, but I pray that you have mercy upon these others.  They do not understand the Love you bring.  They did not understand the Mercy that you teach.  Please help them to learn as You would have them know."

Answer 4

When  did fsx qualify people  to fly real planes?

FSX and Real flying are very different folks.

Answer 5

Yes I would, it is reallly easy. Anyways, if you did kill the hijackers, air traffic control, or another station connected to the airplane would put a senior pilot(a pilot in charge) on the phone or walkie talkie(whatever) and they would tell you everything on how to land the plane.

now that should get the best answer

Answer 6

Yeah I would try. I have a little real airplane experience. But probably not enough to save me and the others.However I would aim for the ocean. And make an emergency landing there. I would not try for the airport because If I messed up I would kill a lot of people on the ground.

Answer 7

Yeah, well, think of the rewards  --- reward number one  a shot at STAYING ALIVE.

Even without flight simulator practice, it is nowadays no big deal to land a modern aircraft. Once the hijackers were out of the way, there would be radio contact with air traffic control, who would get someone expert in that plane to talk me through what to do. This would mostly be instructions on how to set the auto pilot. Most modern planes can land totally by themselves, lining up on a beacon. I might still accept the big money offered for the TV interviews, though.

I've not heard of it happen with jets, but there are many cases of light aircraft being landed by people with absolutely no flying experience, after the pilot has had a heart attack etc. They get talked through it by a pilot on the ground. This is even though small planes are not automatic, and so the person has  to do the actual landing themselves.

Answer 8

Yes, I would. I don't have much confidence in the possibility of surviving a hijacking wothout doing something. In the past, hijacking was a tool for hostage taking. There's a new breed of terrorist today that are looking for high body counts, not ransom demands. I think your chances of doing nothing and surviving would be very slim. ithis, the only action that makes sense to me would be to attempt to take the plane. The chances of a hijacker having a bomb are prety slim as well. Sneaking one on would be incredibly difficult and the plane is a much more effective weapon than any small bomb. After taking the plane, I'd try to find a qualified pilot. I've got a little flight experience and I study manuals and home simulators so I'm confident that I could do a decent job with some outside instruction, but I'd be more comfortable assisting a qualified pilot than doing the whole thing myself. Hopefully we would all get back on the ground safely. I wouldn't be doing any of that for fame or heroics, though. I think the biggest motivation would be keeping myself and the other passeners alive. In fact, I would like to try and remain anonymous if possible. It might be nice to be cheered on or paraded around but, the truth is, I'd rather not be recognized for it. I can't say why exactly, I just don't feel like fame or adulation would be warranted when I didn't go looking for the trouble to begin with. It would be the kind of situation where I'd end up saying, "I didn't have a choice." I think that soldiers, police officers, air marshals, and all of the rest of the men and women who take on as a career the sometimes dangerous task of protecting others are more deserving of that kind of recognition.

Answer 9

I think you guys are bloody insane!

Sure, the guy who successfully lands the plane becomes the hero, but on a large airplane there's gotta be hundreds of passengers, and if even one has flying experience he is the best shot for everyone to live!

Answer 10

Yes, if the hyjackers have killed the pilots, they are likely on a suicide mission so  I would do everything possible to kill them.

If the plane is a modern Boeing, I would get it onto an ILS, select APP mode on the MCP, engage BOTH autopilots, select gear down and full flap, set MCP speed to Vref +5 and select autobrake 3. The plane will then land itself. All I have to do is keep is straight on the runway after landing.

Answer 11

For sure, id kill the hijacker, take his watch , wallet and jewellery. Then id talk to ATC and tell them of my situation and then fly the plane with autopilot right to the runway then disengage , r****d throttles, flare and land. then hit the brakes, sweet as.

Answer 12

Of course.

If Adam from Mythbusters can land a plane, so can I.

Answer 13

First, I'd have to weight the chances of taking the plane over.  Usually, there are more than one hijacker.  The safety of the passengers is paramount.

Second, it depends on the status of the aircraft.  I'm a pilot, and I'd have to evaluate systems first.  Heck, if it's a 747, it can land itself....

Third, I'm prayed up.  I know where I'm going, and who's in control. So, I'm not going to be too concerned.

Answer 14

I would jump out the plane with my parachute

Answer 15

yes i would try just like the movie that reenacted 9/11 the passengers attacked the cockpit with the terrorist,i would attack get control of the plane(i have a flight sim)and then try and talk to the control tower and ask him how i can land the plane this can actually work becuz the mythbusters tested if a person who has never flown before get help from someone on the radio that has flight expierence can help him land the plane

Answer 16

Simple; you could die hijacker crashing the plane, or die trying to save innocent lives. I'd go with the more noble solution, also because there's a chance I would survive.

Answer 17

Yes I would try everything in my power to do so.

Answer 18

No, i will not do anything

Answer 19

As a pilot, sure! There might be a slight delay though while I dismembered the hapless terrorist. Then we'd fly over his home town and bomb the place with his body parts, then continue to our destination.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, thank you for flying Terrorist-Free airways!"

Answer 20

Id attempt it even if i failed at least id tried and hopefully if someone saw me trying to control the plane they'd try the same if i died trying

or id get people to help me kill the hijackers

but yeah if your going to die at least die trying

Answer 21

I would, it's do or die. Probably some one on the flight would know a thing or two about flying and go about landing the plane, or the air traffic controls would radio in and give assistance.