At my nine to five the other day, I heard some rather sad news. A coworker's husband had died in a paraplane accident. Apparently, the engine quit. Shortly thereafter, the plane and pilot plummeted 200 feet to the ground. I can not claim to know much about the operation of paraplanes, but I do know that a failed engine is a perfectly survivable event in an airplane. Perhaps we all could use a little review in that pilot's worst fear: the emergency engine-out.
There you are all alone in the sky. With the magnificent view beneath you, you can't help but feel a little godlike. You turn left, when suddenly the engine gets quiet. Your engine, that lifeline that was keeping you in the air, just died. Now, you are faced with a grim reality: one of your worst nightmares has come true.
Don't panic, so you've lost an engine. The airplane still has wings, right? OK then, since you can still fly the plane, the only thing that changed is that you have to start coming down. But remember: you are still in control.
Lets break down the procedure step by step.
Recite your ABC's...
A is for Airspeed. Immediately pitch up (or down) for best glide speed. Before flying any airplane, you should know this number by heart. If you don't, go get your POH and look it up now. Now trim the airplane to hold best glide.
B is for Best Field. Look out that window and finalize your decision on the best field to land. Remember, the field needs to be close enough to get to, large enough to land in, and needs to be clear of trees, power lines, and other hazardous obstacles. If possible, try to choose a field facing into the wind, but don't get too picky. Remeber, you don't have an engine, which makes time a commodity. Pick your field, and begin manuevering towards it.
C is for Checklist. Now that we're all set for that landing, lets try to restart the engine. Go through your engine out checklist in a smooth and orderly fashion. Ideally, you want to practice this frequently enough to make it second-nature. Remember, move quickly, but don't rush through this. You can always make things worse by going too fast. Keep your cool.
D is for Declare the emergency. So that engine wouldn't start up after all. Keep setting yourself up for the landing while you switch your transponder over to the emergency code of 7700. While your at it, you'ld better tune into the emergency frequency of 121.5 and make your may-day call.
Once you are certain that the engine will not restart, go ahead and shut down the fuel system. Your engine-out checklist should dictate this to you, but typically you will turn the fuel pump, fuel selector, mags, and master off. Ensure that the seat belts are buckled and tightened, and crack the door open on approach. Before you land, it is advisable to turn the ELT on as well. Now land the plane.
OK, so you've got the checklist down, but just how do you go from cruise to landing in your field without an engine? Easy. Fly to the field of intended landing. If you have excessive altitude, simply circle the field, and KEEP YOUR EYE ON IT to bleed off that altitude. Ideally, you want to manuever the plane to be on the downwind, abeam the intended touchdown point, 1000' agl. From then on, it is simply a judgement game. Based on your rate of descent and groundspeed, make your turns to base / final. Don't worry about squaring off the pattern. This is an emergency, so do what you have to do to make the plane land at that perfect patch of grass you picked out. Remember, its always better to be a little high than low. Without an engine, you can't reclaim lost altitude. If you are too high though, you can always drop some flaps, slip the airplane, or make S-Turns to get her down. In a pinch, you can always do all three.
If you are a pilot, and you do not feel 100% confident in your ability to land without an engine, it is advisable that you spend some time with a CFI building experience and confidence in engine-out procedures.
