Land a plane game: could you bring Flight 418 down?

Twelve minutes out of Corrigan

Flight 418 is a short choose-your-path land a plane game built on one question: if the pilot went down, could you bring the plane in? It is a night commuter flight, a small twin-engine plane with nine passengers and one pilot, twelve minutes from a regional airport called Corrigan. The cockpit door bangs open, and Captain Marsh is slumped against the controls. He is breathing, and he will not wake up. You are in seat 2A, the closest passenger to the cockpit, and a controller on the radio is calling for anyone who can hear her.

Her name is Ana Ruiz, and she works Corrigan Approach. She will talk you down. You will make eight decisions between the open cockpit door and the ground: what to do with the captain, how to answer the radio, whether to trust the autopilot, who sits up front with you, what to do about the storm crossing the runway, when to lower the gear and flaps, whether to go around, and how to put the plane on the ground.

How this episode plays

Two meters sit above the scene. Fuel is shown in minutes and only goes down. Drift shows how far you are from the line Ana wants you on, in three bands: On course, Drifting and Way off. Almost every choice costs one or the other. Careful choices usually cost fuel. Fast choices usually cost drift. The game tells you which before you pick, in the short line under each choice.

Reading never costs fuel. There are no timers, and nothing happens while you think. The fuel number only moves when you choose something that takes time.

You can pick up three things along the way. The captain's headset lets you hear Ana clearly, even in rain. His checklist card puts the gear and flaps down in the right order. A flashlight helps if part of the panel goes dark. You cannot have everything: the headset and the flight bag are two different choices on the same screen, and searching the bag costs fuel.

The meters decide what is possible at the end. The runway is four minutes from the last decision, so you need four minutes of fuel to reach it. Corrigan's runway is short, so it wants you lined up. A longer runway is farther away. There is always somewhere flat to put the plane down, but not always somewhere good.

Who is on board, and who is on the radio

Ana Ruiz is the controller. She speaks in short, even sentences, gives you one instruction at a time, and never tells you it is going to be fine unless it is. She cannot fly the plane. She can tell you exactly what she needs.

Ruth Pell is a retired eighth-grade teacher in seat 1C who does not like flying. She is steady once she has a job and frightened when she does not. Whether she helps or panics depends on what you ask of her early, and on what the cabin overhears.

Mateo is sixteen, flying alone to his father's, and fast with numbers. He has never been in a cockpit. Captain Marsh is unconscious from the first scene to the last. The game does not go into why.

The five endings

Textbook, Firm Arrival, The Long Way Down, Grass Strip, and Flight 418 Did Not Arrive. Two of them end on Corrigan's runway, one at a different airport, one in a field, and one short of the lights.

Every ending names the choice that made the difference, as "your one right choice" on a win or "your one wrong choice" otherwise. From the result page you can rewind to a key decision instead of starting over. The endings you have found are saved on this device, so you can see how many of the five you have reached.

How serious is it?

Serious. One wrong choice can end this flight, and the worst ending is told plainly: the plane does not reach the runway. It happens off-page, through the radio, with no wreckage and nothing graphic. The captain is unconscious and the game never shows an injury. It is written for adults who want a short game with real stakes and a real decision on every screen.

It is also fiction. The airline, the airports, the plane and the people are invented, and the flying is simplified on purpose. Nothing here is a real procedure. If you are ever on a plane with an emergency, listen to the crew and the controllers.

Who you meet

• You. A passenger in seat 2A, the closest seat to the cockpit, and the only one who answers the radio.
• Ana Ruiz. The controller at Corrigan Approach. Short sentences, one instruction at a time, and a steady voice.
• Ruth Pell. A retired eighth-grade teacher in seat 1C. Frightened of flying, and steady once she has a job.
• Mateo. Sixteen, flying alone to his father's. Fast with numbers. Has never been in a cockpit.
• Captain Glen Marsh. The pilot. Unconscious from the first scene.

Questions

How long does Flight 418 take?

About five minutes for one run. There are eight decisions, and most people play it a few times to find more of the five endings.

Can you lose before the last decision?

No. Every run reaches the touchdown. Earlier choices decide how much fuel you have and how far off the line you are when you get there.

Is this how you would really land a plane?

No. The plane, the airports and the procedures are fictional and simplified. The game is about decisions under pressure, not flying technique.

Is it free, and does it save?

Yes to both. There is no sign-up and nothing to buy. Your current run and the endings you have found are saved in this browser only.