I would hope that the button would not be responsive if the plane is literally midflight, or have some failsafes to prevent exactly this kind of situation.
Obviously I'm not a pilot but I can't imagine many scenarios where a commercial flight would want to actively shutdown the engines with just a simple command while midair. But I'm willing to be corrected if thats not the case.
> I can't imagine many scenarios where a commercial flight would want to actively shutdown the engines with just a simple command while midair.
The scenario has already been mentioned elsewhere in this thread: an engine fire. If the engine is actually on fire, you want the flight crew to shut it down as quickly as possible, because the plane could be seconds away from a jet fuel explosion.
Obviously I'm not a pilot but I can't imagine many scenarios where a commercial flight would want to actively shutdown the engines with just a simple command while midair. But I'm willing to be corrected if thats not the case.