Lesson 3: Emergency Procedures
One of the remarkable things about the modern
airplane engine is its reliability. In fact, it's
considered the norm for a pilot to fly an entire career
in a small, piston powered airplane and never
experience a catastrophic engine failure. Yet, even
when an engine does fail it seldom meant "curtains" for
the pilot. What was once an airplane with a perfectly
good running engine now becomes a semi-efficient glider
with a large useless weight in front. The fact is that
properly trained pilots can successfully cope with an
engine failure.
In this lesson you'll be introduced to several
techniques for handling an engine failure in the
Beechcraft Baron 58. Of course, the Baron is a
multiengine airplane, and the failure of a single
engine requires some very special training that is
beyond the scope of this session. That's why this
lesson will specifically cover how to handle a double
engine failure. Granted, a double engine failure is
rare, but it can happen, especially if you are having a
bit of bad luck. (In other words, this wouldn't be the
best time for you to invest in a Lotto ticket). Fuel
contamination, fuel starvation, and fuel exhaustion are
just a few of the reasons pilots have invented to see
to it that both engines cease operating at the same
time. Despite the experience of a double engine failure
in a Baron, this lesson will provide you with useful
principles for handling an engine failure in any of
Flight Simulator's single-engine airplanes,
too.
The Big Picture
Before we jump into our discussion of engine failure
procedures, here's a basic description of what will
happen during the flight portion of this lesson.
You'll begin the lesson in cruise configuration
while flying at 170 knots approximately five miles
south of Paine field in the state of Washington. Both
engines will quit simultaneously. Making the
"brrrrrrrrrrrrr" engine sound with your pursed lips
won't bring the engines back on line. Besides, it could
fog up the windshield.
Your first action will be to lower the airplane's
nose to establish the proper glide speed. Then you'll
run through the engine failure checklist in an attempt
to restart the engines. Of course, the engines won't
restart because that would defeat the purpose of the
lesson. Next, you'll activate the GPS and find the
nearest airport. (I've already given you a hint where
it's at.) You'll fly to the center of that airport,
circle down from above, and land on a runway of your
choosing. (Even though both engines fail in the Baron,
I'll speak of the engines in the singular, rather than
the plural for this lesson. This will help make the
lesson applicable to single-engine airplanes, too.)
That's the big picture. Are you ready for juicy
details? OK, let the games begin, or, in instructor
talk, "Let the engines stop."
When an Engine Quits: The Very First
Step
Very few things are as certain as the proper
piloting behavior that follows a failed engine. The
moment your engine goes on strike you should
immediately lower the nose to the pitch attitude that
will provide the maximum range glide speed. In the
Baron, this speed is 115 knots (Figure 3-1). What does
the maximum range glide speed give you? Here's a
hint: Who's buried in Grant's tomb? It gives you the
chance to glide the greatest horizontal distance for
your present altitude (we'll assume this is a no
wind condition for all these examples).
You might be surprised to know that most piston
powered airplanes have glide ranges of approximately 10
to 1 (Figure 3-2). No, those aren't the odds that you
won't make the landing field, either. This value
indicates that if you're 1,000 feet above ground level
you can glide 10,000 feet horizontally. This is pretty
impressive considering that some purpose-built gliders
have glide ratios beginning somewhere around 18 to 1.
An airplane without an operating engine is a slightly
inefficient glider, but it's a glider nevertheless.
With a 10:1 glide ratio, you have a good chance of
finding a farmer's field or an airport on which to land
the airplane. Of course, it's preferable to put the
airplane down at an airport instead of a field whenever
possible, for several reasons. The most compelling of
which is that you won't find airplane mechanics
standing around farmer's fields unless they're
moonlighting as scarecrows.
Once the maximum range glide attitude is established
and the airplane trimmed, you now have an important
choice to make. If you're close to the ground when the
failure occurs, there's not much time to troubleshoot
the problem. Your first priority in this instance is to
find a place to land because that's what you're about
to do. On the other hand, if an engine fails in cruise
flight, you have a little more time and can run though
the engine failure checklist before having to focus
solely on the landing. How you handle an engine failure
between takeoff and cruise flight is based on your
assessment of the altitude available and the
environment over which you're flying.
Since this lesson's engine failure occurs in cruise
flight, you should have just enough time to quickly run
through the engine failure checklist. Here is
what you should check and the order in which you should
check it.
Basic/Abbreviated Engine Failure
Checklist
(Numbers correspond to the following
explanations)
- Airspeed: Pitch for 115 knots
- Fuel Selectors: Each set to ON
- Fuel Pumps: ON
- Mixtures: RICH
- Alternate Air or Carburetor Heat Lever: ON (if available)
- Magneto Switches: BOTH
- Flaps: UP
- Gear: UP
- Seat Belts: Fastened
Here's a brief explanation of each item above:
- We already discussed why we fly at the maximum
range glide speed of 115 knots (Figure 3-3).
- We check to ensure that both fuel selectors are
set to their ON positions (Figure 3-4).
You might not believe it, but sometimes
when pilots switch fuel tanks they accidentally set
their levers to the OFF position. It's also
possible to accidentally bump the levers with a
hand or foot, knocking them to the OFF position or to the position of a fuel tank that's
empty (like the pilot's head at the time the switch
was moved to OFF position).
- The Baron has electric fuel pumps and they should
be turned on to help establish any interrupted flow
of fuel (Figure 3-5).
- The mixtures are checked to ensure that they're
in the full forward position, meaning that these
levers won't restrict fuel flow to the engine (Figure
3-6).
- This Baron doesn't have alternate air levers,
which act as an ancillary source of air in case
airflow through the air filter becomes blocked. If it
did, we would want to move them to the ON position. This is good to remember for the other
planes you fly in Flight Simulator.
- Checking that the magneto switches are set to BOTH is important because they might have been
bumped accidentally and knocked to the OFF position (Figure 3-7).
- Remember that flaps create drag, so get those up
as soon as possible.
- Gear creates drag, too. If you have altitude,
raise the gear. However, if you are at a low
altitude, you might need to land, so keep them down.
But you won't glide as far.
- 9. It could get rough, so stay buckled up.
(Note: Since this a multiengine airplane, we would
normally feather both propellers in an engine failure
condition. Feathering means pulling the prop levers as
far aft as possible to limit the drag produced by
windmilling propellers. We don't discuss propeller
feathering in this lesson. You can, however, assume
that I'll feather both propellers in our airborne nest
for you. In real life, however, you'd have to feather
your own nest). To learn about feathering propellers,
see Flying Twin-Engine Aircraft in the Learning
Center.
The object of the engine failure checklist is to get
the engine running again. You don't want to make a
forced landing, unless you're forced to, right? If you
did manage to get that engine restarted, the only
problem you now face is explaining to your passengers
why it suddenly got quiet in the cockpit (and why you
suddenly started sweating because passengers don't like
to see these two things occurring together). We'll
assume that you were unable to restart the engine for
the purpose of this lesson. (Remember, even though I
speak of an engine failure in the singular form, I'm
referring to both engines for the Baron.)
Being Nosey About the Nose
As I've already mentioned, completing this checklist
assumes that you're at a reasonable enough altitude to
make such a thing practical. Given that it takes just a
few seconds to run through this checklist, you
shouldn't lose much altitude during its completion. You
should, of course, maintain 115 knots while doing it.
The big question is: should you leave the nose pointing
in its current direction, or point it somewhere else as
you complete the checklist?
Professional thinking holds that safety-conscious
pilots should always have a safe landing spot in mind
whenever and wherever they fly. In other words, a good
pilot is always scouting for a safe landing spot in the
event of an engine failure the moment he or she lifts
off. Of course, an airport would always be a preferred
landing spot because it has runways, mechanics, and
vending machines. An open field is the next best choice
if there's no airport nearby (but if has a vending
machine in the middle of it, please avoid it). Upon
engine failure, the pilot would instinctively and
reflexively turn toward the airport or field and run
through the engine failure checklist. Once the
checklist is completed, the pilot's full attention can
now be devoted to landing the airplane. If an engine
quits at a low altitude, then the pilot must
immediately dedicate all of his or her attention to
configuring the airplane for a safe emergency landing
before completing the engine failure checklist (if
there is even time to complete it, of course). Engine
failures after takeoff are a good example of this
scenario. There's often little or no time to play with
a checklist when the airplane is just a few hundred
feet off the ground.
In this lesson, you'll experience an engine failure
at 8,000 feet mean sea level (MSL), which puts you
approximately 7,400 feet above ground level (AGL).
You'll have plenty of time to complete the engine
failure checklist in this instance. Once done, you
should use your GPS (Figure 3-8) to find the nearest
available airport.
As you've learned by reading the GPS material in the
Learning Center, all you have to do is point the tiny
airplane in the tiny moving map window toward the tiny
airport to begin moving towards it. This will keep you
from landing off field, possibly rolling the airplane
up into a tiny little ball.
Because of that "psychicness" I mentioned in
Commercial Lesson 2, I predict that Paine Field will be
the nearest airport to you. It's great being psychic.
It's also great being the one who writes these lessons,
which helps ensure that I'm psychic nearly 100 percent
of the time. So point your nose toward Paine Field and
prepare to experience Paine. Let's also prepare for the
next step in this emergency landing.
Reduce the Pain of Emergency
Landings
Paine Field has three runways for your landing
pleasure (Figure 3-9).
It also has an air traffic control tower. Once
you're pointed in the direction of the airport, you
should consider making a "Mayday" call. This is where
you transmit the words, "Mayday, Mayday, Mayday" on the
appropriate radio frequency. If you had an engine
failure in the month of June you wouldn't, however,
transmit, "Juneday, Juneday, Juneday." No one would
understand what you mean, nor would anyone care what
you mean. "Mayday" is the international term for, "I've
got an emergency and need assistance." Obviously, it
would be best to transmit on Paine Tower's frequency
since you're having your emergency there. If you didn't
know the tower frequency, then you should transmit on
the international aviation emergency frequency of 121.5 MHz. You'll certainly get someone's attention
here. The object is to inform someone of your problem
and obtain any assistance possible.
If you did transmit on Paine tower's frequency, the
controller would most likely ask you about the nature
of your emergency. You should tell him that both
engines are inoperative and that you intend to make
making an emergency landing at Paine. The controller
would most likely clear the entire airport of traffic
and make it "Airport Day for Bob" (if Bob is your
name), meaning that you have the place all to yourself.
The controller might then ask what kind of assistance
you'd like. Sometimes they'll offer to roll the crash
trucks in case you needed that kind of assistance. I
wouldn't, however, ask them if they could roll the
catering trucks instead. You want the controller to
think you're hungry for safety, not sandwiches.
Landing into the wind is an important objective
during any emergency. This provides you with the
slowest touchdown speed and the shortest possible
landing distance. That's why when communicating with
Paine tower, the controller would most likely inform
you of the runway that's most nearly aligned into the
wind. Pick that one. For this particular lesson, there
will be no wind at Paine today. (Not only am I psychic,
I also control the wind. I love this job.) This means
you have the option of landing on any runway and in any
direction you choose. Given these choices, I would
certainly fancy landing on the long runway, which is
34L/16R. You should fancy that, too. Just don't try and
fly fancy.
The Emergency Landing
Now that you've elected to make your emergency
landing at Paine Field, let's chat about the technique
for doing it. Perhaps the single most important item in
the emergency landing process is to remain within
gliding distance of the airport. Obviously you'll have
to circle down from above the airport, eventually
delivering yourself onto the downwind leg of the runway
chosen for landing. It's best to avoid making a
straight-in approach with an engine failure when you
can fly a modified rectangular traffic pattern (Figure
3-10)
Why? Flying a rectangular pattern provides you with
more options for correcting any errors in judgment
you've made about the airplane's gliding distance. It's
simply way too difficult to estimate how well you're
gliding when flying on a long final as compared to
flying parallel to the runway then turning base and
final. You can change the geometry of a rectangular
pattern to reach the runway as shown in Figure 3-11.
It's much more difficult to change your glide range
during a long final approach.
Since you're gliding directly toward the center of
the airport, begin a left-hand turn using between 20
and 30 degrees of bank when you're over the center of
the runway complex. Circling to the left above the
airport allows you to see it more easily during the
descent since pilots often sit on the left side of the
airplane. This is known as a descending spiral. Your
objective here is to modify the bank angle slightly
during the descent so as to remain over the geographic
center of the runway complex. This keeps you in the
best position from which to choose the most desirable
landing runway as you get closer to field
elevation.
From this point on down, you're constantly watching,
planning, plotting and scheming.
When you're approximately within 2,000 feet of
airport elevation, you should decide on the best runway
to use for the emergency landing. Since Paine is 606
feet above sea level, you'll want to make this decision
when you're approximately 2,600 feet MSL. At this time,
ask yourself which way you need to maneuver so as to
roll out on the downwind leg of a suitable landing
runway. If one runway is favored because of the wind
conditions, you'll certainly want to maneuver so as to
rollout flying downwind and parallel to that runway.
Your objective should be to fly offset from the runway
centerline by a distance of approximately one quarter
to one half of a mile (Figure 3-12). This should keep
you within gliding distance of the desired runway.
If you planned it properly, you should end up
midfield, flying downwind at an altitude between 2,000
and 1,500 feet AGL. Your objective is to end up abeam
the runway threshold at approximately 1,000 feet AGL
(Figure 3-13).
As you've learned in previous lessons, if you're too
low or high from this position, you can modify the
shape of the pattern to help you glide to the runway.
During this portion of the lesson, make sure you use
the keyboard or hat switch on your joystick to keep an
eye on the runway's position. Plan on turning onto base
leg when the runway is 45 degrees to the left of the
wing if not just a little sooner. As a general rule
(even if you're not a general), it's always better to
be a little high than too low when landing without the
use of the engine. You can always lose altitude but
it's very difficult to gain altitude when the engine's
on vacation. From the abeam position downwind, how you
fly the base and final legs determine whether or not
you'll be able to glide to the runway. Your ability to
estimate glide distance and modify your flight path is
a matter of practice and experience.
On base leg, however, you're in a good best position
to complete the emergency landing checklist that
follows:
Basic/Emergency Landing
Checklist
- Airspeed: 115 knots until ready to roundout and
flare
- Mixtures: Idle cutoff
- Fuel Shutoff Valves: OFF
- Ignition Switches: OFF
- Flaps: As Required
- Gear: Down
- Master Switch: OFF
- Doors: Unlatch Prior to Touchdown
Here's a brief explanation of each item
above:
- You want to maintain 115 knots until you're in a
position where you don't need the best glide ability
of the airplane. Most likely this will be when you
begin the roundout for the landing flare.
- Before landing, the mixtures should be set to
idle cutoff to prevent leaning fuel or a sudden
engine restart at a time when you don't expect nor
want it.
- Fuel shutoff valves should be set to OFF to prevent fuel leaks after touchdown or impact.
- Ignition switches are set to OFF to
similarly prevent an unanticipated engine restart,
among other reasons.
- Flaps as required. Remember, if you're landing in
a field, you'll want to touchdown with full flaps (if
possible) to reduce your touchdown speed.
- The landing gear should be down before landing
unless you're landing on water or similar surfaces,
in which case you may want to make a gear-up landing.
No, we don't do this to prevent conking a flounder on
the head. We do so to prevent the airplane from
nosing forward into the water upon landing, possibly
resulting in a flip over, much like the dolphin does
(which you don't want to do since no free snack of
mackerel is involved).
- The master switch the next to last item that's
turned off. This minimizes an ignition source that
could start a post-crash fire. It's last because, on
airplanes like the Baron, it takes electricity to
lower the flaps and gear.
- Finally, you want to crack the airplane door
open. This prevents the door from being jammed if the
touchdown is rough, meaning that you'll have an
easier time exiting the airplane if desired.
Because the purpose of this lesson is to train you
in glide procedures, I'll run through the engine
failure checklist for you during flight. I want you to
concentrate on maintaining the proper glide speed and
remaining within gliding distance of the runway.
Well, that's the basic course in handling an engine
failure in flight. I want you to repeat this lessons as
many times as you need to develop your proficiency.
Admittedly, it's much more challenging to handle a
double engine failure in a Baron than it is, say, a
Cessna Skyhawk SP Model 172. The Baron flies a little
faster and comes down a little quicker. Nevertheless,
if you can successfully land this airplane at Paine
Field, you can probably land most any single engine
airplane under the same conditions, too. The principles
presented here are generic, but you'll find the
applicable to most other simulator-type airplanes.
Click the Fly This Lesson link to practice
what you've just learned.
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