Question: *There is [another question](https://aviation.stackexchange.com/questions/8986) about airliners and if someone not qualified could land them. My question is about the steps I should take to stay alive in a small GA plane.*

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Let say a friend of mine invites me aboard a small aircraft (like Cessna 172 or equivalent).  

At some point my pilot friend passes out for some reason. What should I do considering the following: 

* I'm not a pilot.
* I'm seated in the co-pilot seat.
* I spent hundreds of hours on Flight Simulator (a few years ago).
* I've been initiated to fly a small aircraft (1 session covering the very basics), but no take-off/landing exercises.
* The weather is good.
* Aircraft is in good condition.
* The tank is full.
* Area has ATC and I know how to operate the radio.

This is my guess:

1. Hold the plane's level and heading
2. Slap my friend to try to wake him up
3. Send "Mayday" asking for assistance and technical guidance
4. Try to follow ATC instructions as well as I can

Does this look good? What should be done differently?

Answer: 
Best case scenario: You're straight and level, on frequency with some form of human being, there's no immediate danger and you have the know-how to transmit. In that case, that human will provide you with everything they possibly can to help you. Most important thing for you to do is keep the aircraft away from clouds, away from terrain and not panic. You'll probably be in an aircraft that is more-or-less easy to fly in this situation. Most GA aircraft are quite stable and will not be a beast to control.

Once talking to ATC they will tell you to set your transponder to a number. You should find somewhere a 4-digit readout with a knob below/above each digit. Set the number indicated to help ATC identify you easily.

Otherwise, look around you for big landmarks (Mountains, Lakes, even a large Church/Cathedral) as one of the first things ATC will want to do is work out where you are.

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That's best case; let's look at some alternatives. 

*You're out of range of the tuned frequency on the radio, or there is no response*: 

Tune 121.5MHz, this is the [emergency frequency](https://aviation.stackexchange.com/questions/809/is-there-a-dedicated-emergency-frequency). Someone will be monitoring this channel and be able to give you further advice - if nothing else a local ATC channel to tune. Failing this see if your pilot has a chart handy, he may have drawn his intended route on it - look along that route for anything that looks like a frequency to tune into the radio.

*Aircraft is climbing, or descending*:

Get the aircraft into safe, level flight. Remember controls work in the opposite sense to what you might expect (probably not if you've ever played any flight simulator). If the engine is roaring reduce power slightly. If you appear to be losing altitude with the nose on the horizon increase power slightly. Do everything with tiny incremental changes. Try not to fiddle too much with controls, only what is necessary.

*Aircraft is heading directly for a cloud/out to the sea/towards a heavily built up area/a big airport*:

Turn 180 degrees - don't try to turn too quickly, it should take roughly 30 seconds to 1 minute to complete this turn.

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There are courses which are aimed at non-pilots who regularly fly in the right hand seat. Here's some interesting reading:

<http://www.avweb.com/news/safety/183023-1.html>
Here's my guess as a non pilot.

You'd probably have to ask your friend in advance how exactly to do 3. I suspect doing 1 and 3 simultaneous will be taxing for anyone who hasn't flown a real aircraft.

You might want to know how to set the transponder (if present) and what code it should "squawk".

If the pilot passed out immediately after take-off before reaching cruise altitude, you might not want to maintain that flight level - there might be trees or hills ahead.

I think the pilot's order of priorities is aviate, navigate, communicate.