Pilots make flying an airplane look easy, almost automatic. So what are all those hundreds of buttons and controls in the cockpit for?

Question

Pilots make flying an airplane look easy, almost automatic. So what are all those hundreds of buttons and controls in the cockpit for?

In: Other

Answer 1

There’s a lot of words in this thread to avoid explaining like OP is five years old.

When your car breaks, you pull over (if you can) and fix it, or you call a tow truck.

When your plane breaks, either you can fix it from where you’re sitting before you crash, or you can’t. You need **everything** within arm’s reach of the pilot.