I'm not a licensed pilot, but I have spent a whole lot of time flying some pretty realistic aircraft in PC flight simulators. And yes, I fully understand that the real thing is a much different, more sensory-overwhelming experience with a lot of information to process and little to no time available to stop and think it all through.
Two things I would do right away to give myself a fighting chance, if I ever found myself in that situation:
- Squawk 7700 on the transponder.
- Tune COM1 to 121.5 and issue a "Mayday" alert, and hope someone listening at the other end can help talk me down safely.
But if the "Average Joe" doesn't even know what a transponder is, or how to tune the radios, then he is pretty well doomed in this scenario.
