The Left Side of Normal Airplanes, The Internet, and Everything Else

CNN is reporting that the co-pilot on an American Airlines flight became ill during the flight and was unable to continue his duties.  These jets require two pilots to conduct the flight because the workload is just too large for one person to handle.  In addition to actually flying the airplane the pilots have to deal with approach procedures, communicating with air traffic control (and monitoring where other planes are and what they're doing), run through mandatory checklists of things that have to be done before the plane can land.  Unless you're superman, it's just too much for one person to handle.  When I'm on a flight, one of the last things I want to hear come over the speakers is the captain asking if anyone on board has a pilot license.  I'm a pilot, and that would make me nervous.  If I were on that flight I would be quick to volunteer to help, and quick to defer to someone else with more experience if another option were available.  In this case, one of the flight attendants held a pilot license with a commercial rating.  She was able to jump into the right seat and work with the pilot to complete the checklists and assist with whatever else he needed help with.  I highly doubt she actually controlled the movement of the airplane in any way.  She may have dropped the landing gear, turned some lights on, read through the checklist, things like that.  These jets are fairly complex machines and require a lot of training to operate.  Having a commercial rating means you know the rules and regulations as outlined by the FAA, but it doesn't mean you have training on any particular aircraft.  In any case, I congratulate the flight attendant on helping to bring the flight to a successful conclusion.  If I were in that position I can only hope that I would perform as well.