Emergency Descent

Per the Area XII note in the CFI ACS. ASEL/ASES: at least Tasks B and C. AMEL/AMES: Task E or F, Task G, and at least one other Task.

So emergency descent is a possible pick, not a guaranteed one — but it is the Task most likely to be added on top of the required ones, because it can be flown on the way to or from the practice area and costs almost no time. Prepare it to the same depth as B and C.

A maneuver for descending as rapidly as possible to a lower altitude or to the ground for an emergency landing (AFH 18-8). The objective is to get down as soon and as rapidly as possible while not exceeding any structural limitation of the airplane.

The AFH names three triggers (AFH 18-8):

• An uncontrollable fire.
• A sudden loss of cabin pressurization.
• Any other situation demanding an immediate and rapid descent.

Teach it as a category, not a checklist item — the common thread is that time at altitude is the thing hurting you.

Fly it as the manufacturer recommends — configuration and airspeeds come from the POH/AFM (AFH 18-8). The generic AFH sequence, except where the manufacturer prohibits it:

1. Clear — simulated emergency descents should be made in a turn to check for other air traffic below and to look around for a possible emergency landing area (AFH 18-8, AI.XII.A.S1). That is how the AFH scopes it — as training practice — but the ACS bank requirement below makes the turn the right entry on the checkride either way.
2. Power to idle; propeller control (if equipped) to low pitch / high rpm so the prop acts as an aerodynamic brake against airspeed buildup.
3. Gear and flaps extended as recommended — maximum drag for maximum rate without excessive airspeed.
4. Bank approximately 30° to 45° to maintain positive load factors (AFH 18-8, AI.XII.A.S4).
5. Consider a radio call announcing descent intentions to alert other aircraft (AFH 18-8).
6. Recover early enough for a safe level-off or precautionary landing.
7. Complete the appropriate checklist(s) (AI.XII.A.S6). The descent itself is memory-item work; the checklist is the verification pass once the airplane is stabilized, and the ACS lists it as a skill in its own right.

Two reasons, and teach both. Load factor: the bank keeps positive load factors on the airplane during the pushover (AFH 18-8, AI.XII.A.S4) — a wings-level dive entry invites an abrupt unload, negative or near-zero G, which is uncomfortable, throws unsecured items and dust into the pilot's face, and can unport a fuel or oil pickup. Traffic and options: the turn puts the area below the airplane into view, since you are about to descend through several thousand feet of airspace you have not looked at (AFH 18-8).

The bank also increases the descent rate for a given airspeed, because part of the lift vector is now horizontal.

The maximum allowable airspeed consistent with the procedure used (AFH 18-8) — that gives increased drag and a high rate of descent. What "maximum allowable" means depends on configuration:

• VNE — never exceed.
• VLE — maximum landing gear extended.
• VFE — maximum flap extended.
• VA — if the descent is conducted in turbulence, comply with the design maneuvering speed limitation (AFH 18-8).

The ACS holds you to airspeed +0/−10 knots and level-off at a specified altitude ±100 feet (AI.XII.A.S5). Note the asymmetry in the airspeed tolerance: zero knots fast. There is no credit for exceeding a structural limit.

Teach the tension honestly rather than giving a rule. The AFH says a high airspeed descent could blow out the fire, but weakening of the airplane structure is a major concern, and a descent at low airspeed would place less stress on the airplane (AFH 18-8).

The judgment call belongs to the POH/AFM first. Then remind the student of the three things the AFH says to bear in mind during an in-flight fire (AFH 18-9):

• The airplane may be structurally damaged to the point control could be lost at any moment.
• It may still be on fire and susceptible to explosion.
• The airplane is expendable — the only thing that matters is the safety of those on board.

Use the explanation phase of the demonstration-performance method — objectives, completion standards, and safety procedures, delivered before the airplane moves (AIH 9-5):

• Objective — descend at the maximum rate the airplane will tolerate, in control, without exceeding a limit.
• Elements — clearing turn, power/prop/configuration, bank entry, airspeed control, level-off.
• Completion standards — recite AI.XII.A.S5: airspeed +0/−10 knots, level-off ±100 feet.
• Sensations — this is the loud, nose-down, high-rate maneuver in the syllabus. Name the wind noise, the gear or flap rumble, and the pitch-down feeling before it happens. Anxiety resolves into a fight-or-flight response when it is a surprise; the countermeasure is exposure with the student knowing what is coming (AIH 2-9).
• Safety — entry altitude, recovery altitude, traffic division of labor, and the positive three-step exchange of controls (ACS Appendix 2).

• Failure to clear — no turn, no look below. Reteach on the ground; it is the S1 skill.
• Abrupt pushover into a wings-level dive — negative G, no traffic scan. Correction: "bank first, then unload."
• Airspeed overshoot past VLE/VFE/VNE — the most common and the only one that breaks the airplane. Correction: set the configuration before lowering the nose, and put the student's eyes on the airspeed trend, not the number.
• Failure to configure per the POH — descending clean, so the rate is poor and the speed runs away.
• Bank outside 30–45° — too shallow gives a poor rate and a soft-G entry; too steep raises load factor and stall speed.
• Late or high-G recovery — recover early. AI.XII.A.S3 asks for a smooth recovery planned in advance, not a pull.
• Loss of orientation — descending through several thousand feet in a turn while task-loaded is a disorientation setup (AI.XII.A.R4).

• Altitude floor. Pick an entry altitude that puts the recovery well above any terrain or traffic; the AFH requires recovery initiated at a high enough altitude to ensure a safe recovery back to level flight or a precautionary landing (AFH 18-8).
• Airspeed. You are one distracted second from VNE. Guard the throttle and be ready to call "level off" or take the controls.
• Engine care. In piston airplanes, prolonged practice of emergency descents should be avoided to prevent excessive cooling of the engine cylinders — terminate once the descent is established and stabilized (AFH 18-8). That is the teaching point and the reason you only get one or two per lesson.
• Traffic. You are punching down through altitudes fast, in a turn, nose low. Divide the scan explicitly: "you fly it, I own the traffic below."

Narrate cause and effect, one item at a time, in the same sequence you explained it on the ground — learners imitate the instructor's performance, so the demonstration has to conform to the explanation (AIH 9-6):

1. "Clearing turn to the right — I'm looking below us and picking a field while I do it."
2. "Throttle idle. Prop full forward — that's now a big flat disc of drag."
3. "Gear down, flaps to the approach setting. Watch the airspeed — I set the configuration first."
4. "Rolling to about forty degrees, nose down. Notice we stay positive-G through the whole entry."
5. "Airspeed's stabilized just under the gear limit. Rate of descent — look at that."
6. "Recovery starts a thousand feet high. Power in, level the wings, raise the nose smoothly. Level at our target, and I'm going to warm this engine back up."

That last sentence is not filler — it is you modeling engine care in front of the student.

Name the cause, not the symptom. At a 2,000+ fpm descent rate, the airplane covers a lot of altitude during the recovery, so the lead has to scale with the rate. Give them the same rule of thumb the AFH gives for glides: a 10 percent lead — 100 feet for every 1,000 fpm of descent — as a starting point, then adjust for the configuration drag (AFH 3-24).

Then send them back for a repeat with one change only. Changing one variable at a time is what makes the correction stick; changing three teaches nothing.

Because the goal here is not glide distance — it is altitude lost per unit time. Adding parasite drag lowers the lift-to-drag ratio, which steepens the descent angle for any given airspeed. Hold the airspeed near the configuration limit and a steeper angle at the same speed means a much higher vertical velocity.

Contrast it explicitly with the emergency approach in Task XII.B, where the student is taught the opposite: to maximize glide distance, all drag-producing components need to be eliminated if possible (AFH 3-23). Same airplane, opposite configuration, because the objective changed from distance to time. Students who can articulate that contrast actually understand the drag polar.

On a constant-speed installation, moving the propeller control fully forward drives the blades to a low pitch, high rpm angle. Flat blades at high rpm present a large disc of drag to the relative wind, so the propeller acts as an aerodynamic brake to help prevent an excessive airspeed buildup during the descent (AFH 18-8).

It is the same physical effect that makes VMC highest with a windmilling propeller at the low pitch, high rpm blade angle in a twin (AFH 13-24) — a flat-bladed prop is a drag device. Pointing out that link is good transfer of learning for a student heading toward a multiengine rating.

The maneuver is the same; the end state is not.

• Smoke or cabin fire. The AFH says smoke may be removed by opening the cabin air vents, but only after the fire extinguisher (if available) is used — and if smoke intensifies when the vents are opened, close them immediately, which indicates a fire in the heating system or nose baggage area, or that the airflow is feeding the fire (AFH 18-10). Be aware that on some airplanes lowering the landing gear and/or wing flaps can aggravate a cabin smoke problem (AFH 18-10) — which is a direct conflict with the standard emergency descent configuration. Teach the student to expect that conflict and to prioritize breathable air.
• Depressurization. The descent target is a breathable altitude, and the maneuver ends in level flight. On pressurized airplanes, the pressurization air system normally removes smoke, but with intense smoke it may be necessary to depressurize at altitude if oxygen is available for all occupants, or execute an emergency descent (AFH 18-10).
• Fire. The descent target is usually the ground, and it flows straight into Task XII.B. Brief that transition — a student who levels off at 3,000 feet with a fire has completed the maneuver and failed the scenario.