Our expert's advice: turn on the radio, look for a safe place to land and keep the aircraft steady

Earlier this week, an 80-year-old woman landed safely at an airport in Milwaukee after taking the controls of her husband's Cessna aircraft when he died of a heart attack. Dave Smith, an instructor with Redhill Aviation in Surrey, explains what to do if you ever find yourself in such a predicament …

1. Locate the radio Just like in a car, you will find it in the centre of the dashboard. Don't adjust the frequency as it will probably already be set correctly. Locate the PTT (Press To Talk) button. Press it and speak to the control tower, who will "talk you down" just like in the movies. If they don't hear you, switch the frequency to 121.5, which is monitored by the RAF. Failing that, look for the transponder on the dashboard and dial in 7700, which is the "emergency squawk" code. Hopefully, the control tower will then be able to send up a plane to fly alongside and hand signal instructions to you. But if all that fails …

2. Look for a large green field Start gently – very gently – touching the control column to see what each move achieves. Keep the wings level.

3. Find the throttle It looks like the top of a cafetiere. Pull the knob very gently towards you to decrease power. Push away to increase power.

4. Keep in a straight line If you have to turn – say, to circle to a landing spot – don't bank more than 5-10 degrees.

5. Perform a controlled crash It takes a lot of practice to land on your back wheels first, so it is likely you will land on the front wheel. A Cessna will land at about 60-70mph so be prepared for an abrupt halt. Good luck.