Little Girl in Booster Seat Lands Jet Plane, Makes Dad Proud

Some employers today would like their workers to onboard without needing any training whatsoever. After all, paying someone an entry-level wage and having them fulfill more complicated tasks without investing anything in them makes excellent financial sense. But can such an outrageous practice (from a worker's point of view) be applied when landing a plane is what an inexperienced person must do?

Most likely, the answer is no. That's especially true when there are innocent and unsuspecting passengers on board. Happily, that's not the case here.

Although it may be a bit worrying initially, having a little girl as a student co-pilot is not illegal or morally wrong. Let's dive in and see why.

The six-year-old kid is known as Ruth, the RuthlessAviatorGirl. Her dad is most likely a licensed pilot (and a certified flight instructor) who owns or has constant access to a small jet. The Cessna Citation M2, seen in the videos down below, has a starting cost of $4.2 million. But it can easily climb up to over $5.1 million, depending on the preferred spec. It can also incur, on average, an annual cost of around $1.1 million. However, this greatly depends on the area where the plane spends most of its time or how often it is being flown around.

The Cessna jet produces 1,965 pounds of thrust. It can reach a top speed of Mach 0.71 (545 mph), while the cruise speed taps out at 404 knots. It can climb up to 41,000 feet (12,500 meters) while boasting an average hourly fuel burn of 120 gallons (455 liters). Its maximum range is 1,550 nautical miles, which is 1,785 miles (2,870 kilometers).

In this inspirational footage, the girl is told by her dad to "go ahead and disconnect the autopilot" as soon as he confirms that the runway is in sight. She listens and takes control of the jet by placing both hands on the yoke while the adult keeps his hands on the throttle and feet on the pedals. Although not visible in the video, it's also possible that he held his left hand hovering near the jet's "steering wheel."

Nearly perfect

She kept the aircraft lined up with the runway and, albeit a tad bit nervous, listened to her dad's instructions. And, just like that, landed the jet in what can only be considered an almost butter landing. "At least we didn't crash," wittingly said the girl after making safe contact with the tarmac.

The girl is already used to aviation lingo and has nearly mastered talking with air traffic control (ATC). She can be heard saying "Taxi to parking, Zero, Golf, Yankee" to the air traffic controller. But it gets even better because in the second video at the end of this article, you can hear her saying all the right stuff so the ground-based personnel can maintain the safe and orderly flow of air traffic. Considering her age, that's another impressive ability she gained while airborne with her dad. And, yes, she also knows how to take off!

Some pilots might claim that landing a jet is similar to a controlled crash. However, an aircraft like the Cessna Citation M2 is equipped with sophisticated avionics systems, including auto-landing capabilities and advanced flight computers, which aid pilots in making precise and safe landings.

These systems help maintain stability, correct for any deviations, and assist with aligning the aircraft with the runway. Thus, most landings are uneventful, involving a smooth touchdown followed by controlled deceleration to bring the small jet to a stop. And that's precisely what happened here and, by the looks of their YouTube channel, will continue happening.

No worries

English-speaking 14-year-olds can obtain the student pilot certificate to fly gliders and balloons alone. Existing rules state that only 16-year-olds can get behind the yoke of a powered aircraft and deal with it by themselves.

However, according to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), youngsters who want to learn how to fly do not require a student pilot certificate to take lessons. They can virtually start at any age if a certified pilot is next to them and can take control at any moment.

Aviation fans might remember one tragedy from 1994 that involved a minor. But the famous Aeroflot Flight 593 tragedy scenario is not possible here. That's because the adult sitting on the left-hand side never allowed the kid to mess with the control without understanding what they do or without being ready to take over at a moment's notice. The captain of the Moscow to Hong Kong flight allowed the young boy to sit in his chair, and he unknowingly partly disengaged the Airbus A310's autopilot.

They eventually leveled the aircraft, but one of the pilots over-corrected the passenger plane, which, in turn, led to it stalling and entering a spin. It eventually crashed into the mountains. No survivors were found.

Now watch how this six-year-old girl gets it done with little anxiety and how her dad keeps her calm and encourages her to take all the proper steps. We all have something to learn from this!

Remember to share your thoughts about this amazing footage with us in the comment section below! We'd love to hear your take!