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Learning hub · Operational Procedures · Lesson 2

Engine failure, fire and precautionary landings

Real emergencies are rare, but the best time to decide what you will do is now. This lesson covers the thinking behind the main emergencies in a single-engine aeroplane. The exact drills belong to your aeroplane.

About 13 minutes, plus the quiz. Part of Operational Procedures. It builds on Safe operations: checklists, threat and error management, and emergencies.

1. The order of priorities

In any emergency the first job is to fly the aeroplane: attitude, speed, then the path. After that, decide where you are going, and then tell someone. This is aviate, navigate, communicate. Fear and surprise narrow your attention, so a plan made on the ground helps. Throughout, follow your flight manual (POH): this lesson describes principles, not procedures.

2. Engine failure

After take-off. Height is short and the time is shorter. An American handbook gives the first action as lowering the nose to the proper glide attitude, so that you keep flying speed. Then you choose a place to land straight ahead or a little to one side and land under control. The handbook says continuing straight ahead or turning slightly usually gives the lowest-risk outcome. Turning back to the runway (the so-called impossible turn) needs height, loses height in the turn, and often ends with a downwind landing. It should only be considered if you know the height your aeroplane loses in the turn and you have practised it. Decide before take-off what your minimum height for any turn is.

In the cruise. You have more time, so use it well.

  1. Fly: pitch for the best glide speed from the manual and trim for it.
  2. Field: choose a landing area early, using the wind and the slope. A field into wind is best.
  3. Checklist: run the restart items in your manual (typical items include fuel, ignition and carburettor heat). Do not spend all the height on checks. Fix a minimum height by which you must be committed to the landing.
  4. Call: send MAYDAY on the radio, set 7700 on the transponder, and say your position and intentions (see the Mayday lesson).
  5. Prepare: brief the passengers, unlatch the doors if the manual says so, and secure loose items.

The glide: an aeroplane that glides 9 to 1 from 3,000 ft above ground can cover roughly 27,000 ft, about 4.4 NM, in still air. The choice of field is limited by that circle (see the performance lesson).

3. Fire and electrical failure

Engine fire. It is usually fed by fuel or oil on a hot surface. The American handbook says that, unless the aeroplane manual directs otherwise, the first step is to shut off the fuel to the engine. The aim is to starve the fire. Do not try to restart. Then make a distress call and land as soon as you can. The handbook adds that turning off the electrical master switch also takes away your radio and transponder, which matters if you have not yet sent a call. Your own manual says what to do and in which order.

Electrical fire. A smell of burning insulation is the usual first sign. Identify the circuit if you can, and switch off what you must. The handbook’s advice is that the most prudent course is to land as soon as possible.

Electrical failure without fire. The idea is to keep flying and navigating without the electrics: a dead radio, a dead transponder, perhaps no flap or no lights. Check the circuit breakers once as the manual allows, use a hand-held radio or the lost communications procedure if needed, and consider landing at the nearest suitable aerodrome.

4. Precautionary landing

A precautionary landing is a planned landing, on or off an aerodrome, when you can still fly but should not continue. Examples are worsening weather, being lost, a fuel shortage or an engine that runs roughly. The handbook says it is generally less hazardous than a forced landing, because you have time to choose the field and plan the approach, and you can still use power to correct errors.

The danger is waiting. A pilot who hopes things will improve can be forced to land when the engine stops or the fuel runs out. Decide early. The usual technique is to inspect the field first, flying a pass at a safe height to check the surface, slope, wires, animals and wind, and then to land into wind. The detail depends on the type and your school’s training.

5. Wake turbulence and bird strike

Wake turbulence. An aeroplane that produces lift creates a pair of wingtip vortices. They are strongest behind heavy, slow, clean aeroplanes. They sink, they drift with the wind, and they can last for minutes. Keep clear of the flight path of a larger aeroplane: stay above it, and take care when you take off or land after one. Taking off behind a larger aeroplane, an American handbook advice is to rotate before the point where it rotated, and to avoid its flight path. In Europe, ATC applies wake separation and may warn you. Ask for more time if in doubt.

Bird strike. The general principles are these: avoid known bird areas, particularly at low level and at dawn and dusk, then after a strike continue to fly the aeroplane first. Check the controls, engine and windscreen, tell ATC, and land at the nearest suitable aerodrome if there is any doubt. Report the strike afterwards.

Training only. These are principles, not checklists. Learn the emergency drills in your flight manual and practise them with an instructor, and do not use this page in a real emergency.

6. Try it yourself

Work each one out on paper first, then open the answer to compare. The numbers are invented.

  1. You are in the cruise 3,000 ft above flat ground. The engine stops. Your invented aeroplane glides 9 to 1 at 65 kt, giving about 4.4 NM in still air. A 10 kt wind blows from the north. Two suitable fields are visible, field A 3 NM to the north and field B 3 NM to the south. Estimate the glide range towards each, and say which gives more margin. What do you do first?
    Show the answer
    1. First: fly. Pitch for the best glide speed and trim. Then think about the field.
    2. Towards A (north) the wind is a headwind, groundspeed about 55 kt. Range = 4.4 × 55 ÷ 65 = about 3.7 NM. The margin is only 0.7 NM.
    3. Towards B (south) the wind is a tailwind, groundspeed about 75 kt. Range = 4.4 × 75 ÷ 65 = about 5.1 NM. The margin is 2.1 NM.
    4. B gives the larger margin, and the spare distance lets you turn back into wind for the final approach. Then run the checklist and send the MAYDAY.
  2. A pilot on climb-out sees the engine stop at 400 ft above ground. The runway is behind. Ahead there is a wide pasture and to the left there are houses. List the first three actions, and say why a turn back is a poor choice unless prepared for.
    Show the answer
    1. Lower the nose to the glide attitude to keep flying speed.
    2. Choose the pasture ahead (or a little to one side) and plan to land under control into the wind.
    3. Run quick checks only if height allows, and call MAYDAY if time permits, but keep flying first.
    4. A turn back costs height, and the pilot may stall in the turn if the nose is not lowered enough. It often ends in a downwind landing at a higher groundspeed. It should be considered only if you have trained it and know your aeroplane loses less height than you have. Straight ahead is usually safer.
  3. During a cross-country, the oil temperature rises and the engine runs rough. The weather ahead is poor but the engine still produces power. A large aerodrome is 8 NM behind you and a small grass field is just below. What kind of landing is this, what do you decide, and what do you avoid?
    Show the answer
    1. This is a case for a precautionary landing: you can still fly but should not continue.
    2. Decide early. Use the power while it lasts, and aim for the aerodrome if it is within reach, since it has a surface, services and rescue. If not, use the field.
    3. Tell ATC or send a PAN PAN or MAYDAY as the situation demands, and brief the passengers.
    4. Avoid waiting in the hope that it clears up. Waiting turns a precautionary landing into a forced one. Follow your manual for the details.

7. Watch

A video on engine failure after take-off and the turn back. Compare what it says with your aeroplane’s manual and your instructor’s advice.

Open on YouTube if the player does not load. Not made by VectorEFB; check what you learn against your flying school’s material and your instructor.

More to watch

A second video on engine fire in flight. This video is American, so wording and some rules differ from European (ICAO/EASA) practice.

Open on YouTube if the player does not load. Not made by VectorEFB.

8. Check yourself

Five original practice questions. Answer them, press Check answers and read each explanation.

1. The engine fails just after take-off at low height. What is the first action?

Keeping flying speed comes first. You then choose a landing place ahead and land under control.

2. Why is a turn back after an engine failure dangerous?

Without training and enough height the turn can lead to a stall or an unsuitable approach. Straight ahead is usually safer.

3. What distinguishes a precautionary landing from a forced landing?

A precautionary landing is planned while flight is still possible. It is usually less hazardous than a forced landing.

4. What is a good habit when you suspect an engine fire and your manual gives different steps from this lesson?

Procedures differ between types. The flight manual for your aeroplane is the authority.

5. Where is the safest place to fly relative to a larger aeroplane’s wake?

Wake vortices sink and drift with the wind. Staying above the larger aeroplane’s path and allowing extra time reduces the risk.

Next: Mayday, Pan Pan and lost communications. Back to the learning hub.

For training and situational awareness only. Not certified for navigation. Always use official charts, the AIP, NOTAMs and a proper weather briefing for real flights.