Commercial pilot shares the number 1 most challenging simulation scenario he's ever been put through in training

Published on Aug 06, 2025 at 11:12 AM (UTC+4)
by Jason Fan

Last updated on Aug 06, 2025 at 12:42 PM (UTC+4)
Edited by Kate Bain

A commercial airline pilot has shared the most challenging simulation scenario he ever faced during his flight simulator training.

In a YouTube Q&A, the veteran airline captain was asked about the craziest thing a simulator instructor ever threw at him.

His answer didn’t disappoint, and frankly sounds like something straight out of a movie.

What followed was a nightmare scenario packed with bad weather, a last-second change of plans, and a surprise engine failure.

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Orchestrating the most challenging simulation scenario ever

Content creator and pilot Captain Steeeve shared this experience in a recent YouTube video.

It all started with what’s called a Category III approach, which is also known as an ‘autoland’.

This basically means the plane has to land itself, because the weather is so bad that the pilot can’t see anything.

In this case, the weather at San Francisco Airport was a zero-zero, which means there is zero visibility.

In these conditions, the pilots won’t even be able to see the surface of the runway.

While landing in near zero visibility isn’t something that should deter a seasoned pilot, as seen from this Boeing 737 doing exactly that, this simulator scenario wasn’t going to be so straightforward.

The pilot and crew were about to touch down when, out of nowhere, the instructor playing the role of air traffic control threw a curveball.

He called for a go-around, which is when the plane aborts the landing and climbs back into the air.

And just as they started climbing in the thick fog, the instructor made it even worse by simulating an engine failure.

So now they had to keep the plane steady with one engine out, no visuals outside the cockpit, and everything happening at once.

According to the veteran captain, this was probably the most challenging simulation scenario he has ever flown through.

Flight simulators help prepare pilots for the worst

If you’re wondering how this is even possible, it’s all thanks to flight simulators.

These full-motion machines look just like the inside of a real cockpit, complete with all the buttons, screens, and controls.

They can simulate any kind of weather, emergency, or airport in the world, which makes them perfect for training pilots in worst-case situations without ever leaving the ground.

The best part is, if you’ve some serious cash to spare, you can set up an ultra-realistic simulator in your basement.

These flight simulators are a vital training tool for pilots, and instructors are known for pushing pilots to the edge during training in order to make sure they’re prepared for anything.

If it wasn’t for flight simulators, pilots probably won’t get enough experience with extreme conditions, like landing an Airbus A380 nearly sideways during a storm.

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Jason Fan is an experienced content creator who graduated from Nanyang Technological University in Singapore with a degree in communications. He then relocated to Australia during a millennial mid-life crisis. A fan of luxury travel and high-performance machines, he politely thanks chatbots just in case the AI apocalypse ever arrives. Jason covers a wide variety of topics, with a special focus on technology, planes and luxury.