Sorry if this question is too stupid, but I wonder what would happen if a passenger on the first row just behind the cockpit (ie. on a 737) starts screaming "GO AROUND" when the plane is about to touch down. Can it confuse the pilots?
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5Related: Can pilots hear their passengers clapping on touchdown? – fooot Jul 12 '16 at 15:02
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16What would happen? The passenger would probably be taken away by police after landing. – 60levelchange Jul 12 '16 at 15:03
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9I don't know why this questions is receiving downvotes, it's a perfectly reasonably question from someone who's a little new to aviation, there's no need to downvote. – Jae Carr Jul 12 '16 at 18:18
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12Maybe if the passenger shouted "Hey, this is Ellsworth AFB, not Rapid City Municipal!" :) Seriously, though, how do you not notice that there's a line of supersonic nuclear bombers on the ramp instead of a passenger terminal? – reirab Jul 12 '16 at 18:39
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1@reirab, they're closely-spaced airports with their single runways pointing in about the same direction, and Ellsworth is more prominent. – Mark Jul 12 '16 at 21:13
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1If the pilots don't see supersonic bombers lined up on the apron, they're probably not there. – Howard Miller Jul 13 '16 at 01:16
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8"Can it confuse the pilots?" is not the same question than "Can a passenger force a Go Around?". The answer could also be different for an aircraft with an open cockpit like a Twin Otter. – mins Jul 13 '16 at 05:32
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1@reirab because they were landing at night (evening take off, wasn't a long flight) and most AFBs tend to not keep spotlights on the supersonic nuclear bombers parked on the apron. ;) The real question is why ATC at Ellsworth didn't question the random, large plane heading into their airspace. – FreeMan Jul 13 '16 at 12:27
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@FreeMan It landed at 8:42PM local time, which is still light out this time of year in Rapid City. Looking at the flight path, though, it looks like they would have been looking West as they approached the area and Southwest to see the field as they were flying the downwind, so they probably had the sun in their eyes. It's pretty clear they made the mistake before they entered the downwind, since they flew it parallel to Ellsworth's runway instead of to RAP's. – reirab Jul 13 '16 at 14:45
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1@FreeMan They're both Class D fields, so their airspace is small and Ellsworth's Tower probably noticed it too late to do much about it, since the flight wouldn't have been on their frequency. You'd think RAP's Tower would have alerted them to the fact that they were busting Ellsworth's D, though, if RAP's tower was still open then (I'm not sure what time they close.) They probably should have paid more attention to "BE ALERT DO NOT MISTAKE ELLSWORTH AFB, LOCATED 6.5 NM NNW FOR RAPID CITY RGNL" in the A/FD, though. – reirab Jul 13 '16 at 14:55
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@reirab - ah, I just went with CNN's "evening departure" and didn't look up exact times. Also, didn't pay enough attention to notice that this just happened a day or two ago. Most of the comment references are to rather older events. – FreeMan Jul 13 '16 at 15:00
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Neither will there be a go around nor the prison van will change course – Hanky Panky Jul 13 '16 at 16:52
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Of course a passenger can force a go-around, if he has a valid argument. – Alexander Jul 14 '16 at 13:36
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Barring the Ellsworth AFB incident, what would the passenger be able to see that the pilot wouldn't have a better view of? Between cockpit instruments and the front windows I'm not sure there are any situations were the passenger would have a better idea of an issue than the pilot. – Cody P Jul 14 '16 at 21:07
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Not likely. Pilots wear headphones, so we cannot hear the idle prattle of the pax in the hold. In any case, we don't take orders from passengers. Think about that for a second: would you like it if aircraft pilots followed the instructions of a crazy screaming passenger? What if there were TWO crazy screaming passengers giving contradictory commands? Which one should we obey?
In any case, nowadays cockpit doors are closed during flight anyway.
Tyler Durden
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5The headphones thing is the key here I think. While I obviously know you won't take orders from passengers, my point was, if hearing "go around" at the right time loud enough might trigger an unconscious reaction. I am a frequent flyer and know the door is closed, but on a 737 the first row is just one or two meters from the cockpit door, so just wondered if a loud scream could be heard inside :) – rupps Jul 12 '16 at 15:18
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13I would say that their is zero chance that the pilot flying, even unconsciously, react to a voice shouted from the cabin. – Simon Jul 12 '16 at 15:24
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6@Simon - I'd be more worried about the unconscious pilot flying the plane than any chance of a go around. In fact, under those circumstances, I think the go around would be preferable than the inevitable crash caused by the unconscious pilot. – Johnny Jul 14 '16 at 01:17
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1@Johnny Still, the unconscious pilot isn't going to react to the voices from the cabin. Simon... isn't wrong... http://i.imgur.com/t9Kkt8h.jpg – corsiKa Jul 14 '16 at 15:12
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1Many GA aircraft do not have a cockpit door, so you may be more susceptible to a crazy screaming passenger. – SnakeDoc Jul 14 '16 at 15:16
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2Pax are definitely distracting for GA pilots in small aircraft, but we're still not going to take orders from them. However, I could easily see going around because of one. On one of my first flights after receiving my PP ASEL, my right seat passenger decided to answer his phone while we were on short final. It was just distracting enough that I had a hard landing, flared early and dropped it in. I was very surprised by how distracting it was, to the point that if it happened again and I noticed myself paying any attention to the passenger, I would go around. – hemp Aug 03 '16 at 07:19
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No, but the passenger is likely to be arrested for causing such a disruption and face serious charges. The authorities don't react kindly to that kind of crap in a post 9/11 world.
Tomáš Zato
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Romeo_4808N
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Unless he’s shouting “cow on the runway”, I don’t even hear my copilot on finals as he mutters “too fast/slow”, “too high/low”, “left a bit”, etc., but I hear fine as we taxi and he says “Coffee’s on me”.
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3Welcome to the site! This is definitely relevant, but it doesn't really answer the question. If you aren't familiar with how stack sites work then you may want to check out the tour – Pondlife Jul 13 '16 at 01:07
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1Aircraft do hit cows on runways - http://edition.cnn.com/2013/08/08/travel/plane-hits-cow/. In Australia, sometimes strips have to be overflown to clear them of kangaroos. – timbo Jul 16 '16 at 04:06
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2In India, I've been a passenger on a 14 seater plane, and it was normal practice to over fly the runway to make sure it was clear of cows (and other things) before landing. – Michael Shaw Jul 17 '16 at 19:36
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The chosen answer is correct so far, no doubt. But in my eyes, it lacks some generality and an important point:
While it is certainly true for a 737 that a pilot won't hear you and therefore take no action, I'd add that is can be true for smaller aircrafts when you hear the passenger as they may even can speak over the intercom (say a Cessna 172). As a pilot, you have to decide, if you realize that it was a passenger screaming "go around", if you take action. You train a lot of things as a pilot, one of the most important one is to make a go around as fast as possible if anyone screams it (normally co-pilot, flight student etc) and you do not think about whether it is right or not (you assume he had a good reason) because there is no time, you better focus on the maneuver.
The conclusion is nearly the same as mentioned in other answers with the small addition that, if the pilot hears you, you may trigger it's trained reflexes and he will make a go-around.
Mayou36
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1I would think it depends on the pilot. Some will react reflexively, others will consider the source. i.e. if my 9 year-old daughter shouted "go around" while we were on final, I would probably say, "Why?" And then I would wonder where she learned the term "go around" from...
On the other hand, if we're on final and she says, "Hey look, there's a dear on the runway!" then I will definitely take notice and likely go around.
My point is, the passenger would be better off to shout the reason instead of shouting "go around" if they're trying to prompt a change of course.
– hemp Aug 03 '16 at 07:22 -
1You're absolutely right! That's why I wrote the "may", because it depends so much on who says it, how he says it, who's the pilot and on the situation, e.g. how stressed are you. If you're already under high pressure, say high crosswind, rainy, a lot of traffic and someone yells "go around", you will probably not be able to think over it. And completely agree that no passenger actually should scream "go around" but the reason. – Mayou36 Aug 03 '16 at 10:28
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2Yup - "force" a go around? No, not without grabbing the controls or having a chat with ATC on the sly. "Cause" a go around? Yes. There's plenty of cases of incidents where passengers have provided information that the pilot needed, including one where a passenger spotted that the wrong engine had been shut down, and the one on fire was still burning and turning. – The Geoff Sep 08 '16 at 18:18
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If there is a legitimate need for a go-around like an emergency that the pilots can't see but the passenger can or landing at the wrong airport, then it might influence the pilots. However, that might not happen because of the conditions described by @Tyler Durden's answer.
SMS von der Tann
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