Emergency Approach and Landing (Simulated)

Fly the sequence in order:

1. Establish best glide immediately
2. Pick a suitable field into the wind
3. Run the restart/emergency checklist
4. Declare and squawk 7700
5. Fly a planned approach to the field

The ABCDE flow:

• Airspeed — pitch and trim for best glide immediately
• Best field — pick it early and fly toward it
• Checklist — restart attempt, then cause check
• Declare — 121.5 or current frequency, squawk 7700
• Execute — secure the airplane and fly the approach

Airspeed comes first because every second off best glide is altitude thrown away (AFH ch 18).

Fuel, air, spark, from memory:

• Fuel selector to the fullest tank (or switch tanks)
• Electric boost pump on
• Mixture rich
• Carb heat on
• Magnetos checked on both (try each)
• Primer in and locked

If it doesn't relight, commit to the landing and stop troubleshooting in time to fly the approach (AFH ch 18, POH).

About 1.5 nm per 1,000 ft of altitude for a typical trainer (~10:1 glide ratio), before wind. Headwind shrinks it, tailwind stretches it, and a windmilling prop and poor speed control both cost real distance. Gliding toward somewhere landable at all times is the cross-country habit this feeds (PHAK ch 11).

The classic scan:

• Wind
• Surface (firm, dry, smooth)
• Size and shape (long into the wind)
• Slope (land uphill if forced to choose)
• Surroundings (wires, fences, ditches, obstacles on the approach path)

A road can work but wires and traffic make open fields usually safer. Decide once, then stop shopping — late field changes are a killer (AFH ch 18).

Once landing is assured and off-field:

• Fuel selector off
• Mixture idle cutoff
• Magnetos off
• Flaps as needed
• Master off after final flap selection
• Doors unlatched so they can't jam shut
• Seatbelts tight

Brief passengers: belts, brace position, exit plan (AFH ch 18, POH).

Raising the nose past best-glide attitude steepens the descent instead of extending it, and near the ground it invites a stall/spin — the fatal version of this emergency. If the field is short, arrive controlled: it's far better to touch down slow and wings-level in the trees before the field than to stall in from fifty feet (AFH ch 18).

• Prompt establishment of best glide (ACS: ±10 kt)
• A committed field selection with a planned key position
• Appropriate checklist use without sacrificing aircraft control
• Sound energy management on the simulated approach — arriving at the field neither dangerously short nor ballooning long (ACS IX.B)