A YouGov poll found that one-third of adult Americans think they can safely land a plane in an emergency, but that figure jumps to nearly half when looking at the male responses.

Veteran pilot and flight instructor MayCay Beeler told The Hill, “It depends. With the guidance of the right air traffic controller, the likelihood of landing safely enough is possible,” Beeler says.

“It may not be pretty, and may result in some damage to the aircraft, but it can be done. But a lot of things have to go right.

“But first, the passenger had to don a headset and locate the mic button in able to talk over the radio with ATC.”

“So being familiar with basic aircraft switches and gauges is key.

"Knowing where things are. Properly reading and monitoring airspeed, attitude, and altitude instrumentation can make the difference between life and death.

“The ability to stay calm and follow instructions from ATC is crucial. Having at-home flight simulator experience is a huge bonus since this provides familiarisation with a cockpit,”

"It’s not rocket science. Assuming the engine is running when the pilot becomes incapacitated and the throttle is set to maintain flight, a properly trimmed airplane will fly itself. It is inherently stable. It wants to fly."

Beeler stressed that although turning the plane is as easy as moving the stick left or right, landing the plane requires much more knowledge that commercial pilots practice hundreds of times to get right.

This includes knowing how and when to deploy the flaps and landing gear as well as the speed on approach to the runway and how to set it down safely.