On a given flight, let's say a commercial flight with about 100 passengers and a few flight attendants, what are the odds that I (or any other individual) am the most qualified person to fly the plane, after the pilots?
I call myself a pilot very loosely here. I fly paragliders (so I trust my own life to my flying skills, and know a little bit about airspace, etc.), I've flown lots of simulators, RC aircraft, and have started ground school, but haven't yet done any actual flight in powered aircraft.
I'm sure many aviation enthusiasts and non-commercial pilots have thought about a scenario where the pilots of their flight are somehow incapacitated. Maybe someone frantically gets on the PA and asks if anyone knows how to fly a plane. I've wondered if I should even speak up in that situation? (should that be a separate question?) I'm not a great choice to fly the plane, but what are the chances that I'm the best we've got?
I guess to generalize the question, what are the odds that a given person on a flight has some reasonable level of flight experience?