I've listened to a few recordings of similar situations online and if there's no flight instructor there, and the plane has enough fuel to keep circling for a while, they often call one up to come to the airport and help while keeping the amateur in a safe pattern until they arrive.
I think more typically (if there is such thing for these scenarios) atc tries get hold of some instructor or even a pilot it no instructor is found instead of instructing themselves.
A Cessna Caravan airplane does not land itself. It's a thoroughly manual process. As a pilot, I'm in awe of the controller and passenger for being able to pull this off.
Personally, I would perhaps allow this turn of phrase in reference to take-off and cruising, depending on equipment and assuming VFR, but I'm not sure I would ever say this about LANDING any plane.
If the weather conditions are favorable, there isn't much needed. This would have been a very stable aircraft on its own. If the controls are setup properly in advance of the runway, it will descend and "land" with little input. In all likelihood they used a long approach, strait-in, to an airfield totally cleared of all other traffic. He would have had a strait shot in from many miles away.
The important decision was to keep him following the coastline. A random aircraft over florida land would be a nightmare to locate and deal with on radar, even if the transponder was functional. Keeping him following the coastline would have made the fix much simpler.
Not necessarily, but pilots usually fly those manually because a) they’re the exciting parts b) a certain number of manual takeoffs/landings per year are required to stay certified. (EDIT: This was about airliners, a Cessna is definitely 100% manual!)
As far as I understand, takeoff and landing requires manual control in the same way, or for the same reason, Tesla autopilot requires hands on the wheel. It's mostly liability and trust issues.
Are ATCOs actually trained for this kind of situation?