ENGINE FAILURE AND BEYOND ....

Acknowledgements: Thomas P. Turner (MASTERY FLIGHT TRAINING Inc.)

“In the US ‘There have been 20 reports of engine failure forced or crash landings in the past 10 working days .... 

 A few observations: 

·     I’m amazed at the number of engine failures this last two weeks. 

·     I’m even more amazed, and gratified, to see how many of these engine failures resulted in no injuries. Engine failures are the third most common cause of general aviation fatalities, according to AOPA. Faced with one of flying’s most-feared experiences, most pilots have done a great job of getting the airplane on the ground without injuries. 

·     The “land on a road vs. land in a field” debate will continue to rage as data suggests either works...if conditions, skill and likely some luck prevail. 

·     Twin-engine airplanes are no immune to engine failure crashes...

But as much as we could probably learn, we probably won’t get much more information about most of these. Success comes at the expense of learning ... Even in an off-airport landing, if no one is seriously hurt and there is not substantial or greater airplane damage, (in the US) there is no requirement to notify the National Transportation Safety Board .... The event will not be included in most accident trend data reports and articles, which draw their data from the NTSB. So, unless you were in the accident yourself or are close to one of the persons involved, you’ll probably never hear more than what’s in the FAA preliminary report quoted above. 

 In the spirit of FLYING LESSONS, however, this confluence of events reminds us to consider several things

·   Firstly, a large percentage of engine failures are the result of FUEL MISMANAGEMENT. The engine itself was fine, it just wasn’t getting the gas it needed. Take care of the fuel, and engine failures are historically quite rare. 

·   Secondly, we should frequently practice the engine restart procedure for the airplane being flown. That’s not as challenging as it may sound; it’s simply a matter of remembering FUEL, IGNITION, AIR. These are the things an engine needs in order to run; if one or more is interrupted, manipulating the appropriate controls for these systems will get it running again. 

 If you have checked the sources of fuel, ignition and air and the engine does not relight, there’s nothing you can do from the pilot’s seat to get it restarted; so, you need to find a place to set it down.

 I was frankly surprised to find that standard FAA pilot training texts do not address the topic of emergency landing field selection. In the absence of advisory guidance, I jotted down a list of qualities I’d try to consider in those heady moments after an engine quit. 

 My list: 

·     Surface 

·     Wind 

·     Length 

·     Slope 

·     Presence of ditches, paths or other irregularities crossing the landing surface 

·     Approaches 

·     Wires, on the approaches or over the interior of the field 

·     Fences 

·     Animals present 

·     Nearby sources of rescue (That last one isn’t a deal-breaker for a field selection, but it’s also something that should be considered if you have more than one possible choice) 

 It took a little Google-sleuthing to find a really good reference on evaluating and choosing an off-airport landing zone. Leave it to the sailplane pilots to know what to look for. Kai Gersten’s sailplane text Off-Airport Landings is a superb 24-page text not just for sailplane pilots, but for any of us who might have to pick out a field in a worst-case scenario. Sections include these gems about checking for wires around and over a landing zone. There are likely to be wires: 

·     Between two poles. 

·     Between a pole and a group of trees, or a single tree. It is not uncommon to find a telephone pole hidden by one, or a cluster of trees. 

·     Between a road and a house. 

·     Above any road. 

·     Going to any kind of a building. 

·     A narrow field with trees on one side and wires along a road on the other side, or a field with trees along both sides may have wires crossing anywhere along its length. Avoid such fields if possible. 

·     The advice of landing well into the field is not applicable in these situations. The safest assumption is to pretend there are wires around the entire perimeter of every field. 

 ...and note these observations about visual illusions related to unimproved fields, which would be even more important to remember under the stress of an unexpected arrival: 

·       A narrow field will appear to be longer than it is. 

·       A wide field will appear to be shorter than it is. 

·       A long field will appear to be narrower than it is. 

·       A short field will appear to be wider than it is. 

·       If you have been [at] low [altitude] for a while, all fields will appear to be bigger than they are. 

Gersten’s short book is definitely worth a read to better prepare you for an off-airport landing. Consider reading it your FLYING LESSONS homework of the week!“

 FLY SAFE!