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: 
Step 1 not mentioned so far: keep the unconscious pilot from slumping forward into the controls. Their body pushing the yoke in would be a bad thing at this juncture. Cinch up on the shoulder harness and hang the flight bag strap or something similar on the pilot's forehead, with the bag hanging behind the seat.

Then do all the other things in the excellent answers here.

Many years ago I had my wife take a one-day course on exactly this scenario, called the Non-Pilot Pinch Hitters course. I don't know if it's still offered anywhere, but I found that AOPA has a [flash version online](http://flash.aopa.org/asf/pinch_hitter/swf/flash.cfm?keycode=FX07CRS&offercode=FX07CRS). It is most important to familiarize your flying companion ahead of time (assuming it's not a dog) with the radio and how to keep the wings level.

Here is the checklist from the AOPA course:

[![pinch hitter checklist](https://i.stack.imgur.com/7J3vx.png)](https://i.stack.imgur.com/7J3vx.png)
1. As much as possible, keep your hands off of the controls. A properly trimmed airplane will maintain straight and level flight. A human likely will not.
2. Tune the radio to 121.5 and call mayday. 121.5 will be monitored everywhere there is any ATC activity.
3. Follow the instructions of ATC.
4. Use the trim and throttle to descend. During landing, the elevator (pull back and push forward on the wheel) controls airspeed, the throttle controls altitude. Trim the airplane and use the throttle to control descent. More/less trim may be required.