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2 Answers

Planning for Emergency Landing

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General Aviation

How do you recommend best preparing for an engine-out failure on departure (in a Single Engine Land) emergency situation?

Do you use Google Earth? What do you look for besides large roads and open fields? How far off of the airport would you look 1 mile? 2 miles? How long do you spend on this exercise and do you do it for every flight (that you haven't previously done it for)?

The rash of 3 GA crashes on takeoff's this last weekend having me believing much more in this exercise than I've probably prepared for in my past and I'm hoping to learn from others procedures.

Thanks all.

 

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2 Answers

  1. Best Answer


    KDS on Dec 29, 2019

    I’ll throw out a couple things that may or may not address your question.

    The best solution is to not have an engine failure on takeoff. I know that sounds like a silly simple answer, but the engine failures on takeoff often have something to do with what the pilot could have done and didn’t do. I didn’t think it was possible until it happened, but I know of one where a fellow went out in a Cessna 172 with the fuel in the OFF position and got into the takeoff run when the engine quit. How rushed was his preflight and his before takeoff check? I don’t know. I only had his word for what happened and he wasn’t the sort of fellow who was inclined to admit to making a mistake.

    Then I subconsciously know what I’m going to do if the engine quits in regards to turning back for the runway. The common phrase for that is “the impossible turn” and sure enough a lot of people have ended their lives trying to make it. However, I also fly and teach in gliders and rope breaks at 200′ AGL are practiced on a regular basis and a whole lot of emphasis is put on what are you going to do when the rope breaks at all the different altitudes. At this point I need to add Do NOT do a turn at 200′ in an airplane. It won’t make it. A glider is different. The principle is the same, but the numbers are different.

    One important factor to think about is where is the wind coming from. If I want to make it back to the runway I just departed, I’d be a lot better off making the turn into the wind instead of with it. AOPA has an excellent discussion and videos of doing that sort of thing in an airplane.

    Another factor to think about is what am I going to do after takeoff to make it safer. When students are asked to prepare a cross-country flight for their private pilot practical test they will invariably draw a line from the departure to the destination and say the will fly that. So as they start the trip, they are trying to get on the line. Why not for safety sake plan on climbing within gliding distance of the airport at least for a little while and then start off on the trip. With a few exceptions, altitude is your friend in a fixed-wing aircraft, so why not stay within gliding distance before you have some friendly altitude. Of course, departing IFR or from a towered airport is going to limit what you do, but even a towered airport that isn’t busy would likely accommodate a request to climb in the traffic pattern.

    Your question of using Google Earth made me think back to a very wise old helicopter flight instructor I had the good fortune to fly with. We went into what is called a “confined area” for training. Once I had the helicopter on the ground, he asked me to describes what was around us. I think my answer was something like “tall trees”. No, beyond the trees, what is around us. His admonition to me was “you mean to tell me you came in here and didn’t think about what you were going to do in an emergency on the way out of here.” His point was well taken. I had a chance to plan for all that on the way in, but didn’t do it. Airports aren’t confined areas, but there is a similar principle. You got in there somehow. Unless it’s your first takeoff from an airport that you drove to, you’ve seen, or should have seen, what was there before. If it is your first takeoff and you drove to the airport, you can probably find someone and ask them what the terrain is like in your intended departure area. In fact, if you’re in that situation, you are probably renting the airplane and somebody will be there to tell you what the terrain around the airport is like.

    You also asked if you do it for every flight. An airliner and a Cessna 172 are very different, but there are a great many similarities. In an airliner, there is a briefing between the pilots before every takeoff. I used to think that was a waste of time and energy. After all, we’ve been doing this stuff for year and it is our third day of flying together, we got it, we know what we’re going to do if something goes wrong. Then I got a little education on short term and long term memory. People have both until the poop hits the fan and there is no telling what is left in the human mind after that. Maybe you’ll have the long term and not the short term. Maybe you’ll have the short term and not the long term. So, to be safe, let’s make sure and stick some short term memory in the brain about what to do if something goes wrong. You probably don’t have a crew to brief, but you do have yourself.

    Lastly, thinking along the line of briefing for takeoff, I’ll mention something I see GA pilots do on a regular basis. They finish the before-takeoff check, put the checklist down and then go for the takeoff. I’ll stop them at that point and ask what speed they plan to rotate. Then I’ll ask if that is what the checklist says. There is a takeoff checklist, but you sure cannot read it while you’re rolling down the runway on takeoff. So, review it before you take the runway and while you’re there, review the engine failure on takeoff checklist. You’re also not going to pick up the checklist and read it when the engine quits on takeoff, so this is your last chance to stick in your short-term memory.

    You’re going to do great in aviation. Anyone who thinks out safety issues to the extent you do is almost certain to have a safe and enjoyable flying future.

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  2. Craig on Dec 30, 2019

    This is a controversial subject with many opinions that are sometimes contradictory.

    There was an interesting video that I found educational by Captain Brian Schiff on MentorLive about dealing with an engine failure after takeoff that discussed the possible “impossible turn”. It had some good suggestions as how to practice a simulated failure and how to determine your turnback altitude. See mentorlive.site/program/20.html

    I do practice it on a sim (which may or may not approximate actual flight) and in actual flight.

    Like you, I’ve done it where I looked at Google satellite photos/maps of the area around my home airport or an unfamiliar airport. Problem is that those photos can have outdated info. The roads are probably in the same place, but need to be wary of wires/poles. You might be able to scout the area around the area from a height that places you well above the traffic pattern or maybe sneak a couple of glances here or there.

    Sometimes large fields or a forest are the only options. It seems, the key is to have as little kinetic energy as possible (i.e. slowest ground speed, land into the wind if possible) that allows you to still control the aircraft (don’t stall / spin) and to be able to dissipate that kinetic energy as slow as possible. For example, coming to a sudden stop by hitting a brick wall vs. sliding slowly to a stop.

    Avoid areas where you could hurt other people, but maybe try to land close enough that they can get to you and help you.

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