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So switching seats during the flight would have solved the problem?

That sounds so unlikely that most people would dismiss it as silly...

I'm not a pilot, but if the controls are linked -- why would the plane need to know where the pilot is sitting (or even have a switch for it)?

(Any 747 pilots reading? Can you please fill in the gaps for me?)

Not a 747 pilot (not sure why that matters here)... but a pilot. The flight positions are equal. The plane is designed to be flown the same from either flight position and this is routinely done. The guy saying otherwise is talking out their ass.

Thanks for the details :)

I said 747 because I was thinking Boeing at the time, and that was the first of their aircraft I could think of!

I was also thinking something smaller like a Cessna might not have the same setup because they're used for very different things (the air travel equivalent of a bus vs. a car).

Not a pilot either. Perhaps to show different information to the pilot flying vs. assisting? E.g. only the pilot assisting needs to see checklists?

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