Emergencies mindset + engine failure

Fly the airplane first — ABCDE

Definition

An emergency is any situation that demands immediate action to keep the flight safe. Under 14 CFR 91.3(b), the pilot in command may deviate from any rule to the extent required to meet an in-flight emergency. Every emergency in this module is handled with one framework: ABCDE.

Explanation

A — Airspeed. B — Best place to land. C — Checklist / cockpit flow. D — Declare. E — Explain. Same order, every time, so a startled brain has a script.

Step	What you do
A — Airspeed	Pitch and trim for best glide for the most distance. A different target (Vno) only when you must get DOWN fast.
B — Best place to land	The nearest survivable spot — it may be another airport in glide range, not just a field.
C — Checklist / cockpit flow	At or above 1,500 ft AGL: memory items, then the checklist. Below 1,500 ft AGL: memory items only.
D — Declare	Nearest control tower + squawk 7700. If no tower is in range, 121.5. “Mayday, mayday, mayday.”
E — Explain	Tell the passengers what’s happening, keep them calm, and brief how to get out.

Why it matters

More pilots are killed by fixating on the problem — troubleshooting a dead engine all the way to the ground — than by the failure itself. The airplane keeps flying whether or not you solve the puzzle. Your first job is to fly it to a survivable touchdown: aviate, then navigate, then communicate.

Common error

Under stress, pilots reach for the checklist or the radio before they fly the airplane. Control first, always.

The engine quits at altitude. Your first action is to:

Mnemonic

ABCDE

Airspeed — best glide (or Vno to get down fast)
Best place to land — field or airport
Checklist / cockpit flow — memory items, then checklist
Declare — nearest tower + 7700
Explain — brief and calm the passengers

Every emergency, same order. Aviate before you navigate or communicate.

From the Right Seat

I fail the engine on students without warning, and the only thing I grade first is: did the nose come to the glide picture before the hand came off the yoke?

A DPE might ask

What does 91.3(b) let you do in an emergency?
Walk me through your engine-failure flow.
Why is ‘fly the airplane’ the first step?

Airplane Flying Handbook — Emergency procedures 14 CFR 91.3(b) — Emergency authority of the PIC

A — Airspeed (best glide)

Definition

With the power gone, pitch controls airspeed. Trim for best-glide speed — the speed that gives the flattest glide and the most distance over the ground (best lift-to-drag). Too fast or too slow both steepen the glide and cost you reach.

Explanation

Best glide is your maximum-distance speed. A slightly slower minimum-sink speed buys the most time aloft but not more distance — to reach a spot, use best glide. Establish it and trim immediately so you can keep your eyes outside.

Airspeed target	When / why
Best glide	Most distance over the ground — your default for a power loss. Pitch controls it; trim and look outside.
Minimum sink	A little slower — most time aloft, but not more distance. Rarely what you want.
Get down NOW (Vno)	Emergency descent (e.g., an in-flight fire) — trade distance for a fast descent. Full procedure: M7.2.

Why it matters

Best glide is what turns altitude into options — every knot off the number, fast or slow, shrinks the circle of places you can reach. The exception: when you must get DOWN fast, such as an in-flight fire, you fly an emergency descent at a higher speed (Vno, or as the POH says), trading distance for a rapid descent. A still stands for Airspeed — just a different target. The full emergency-descent procedure is M7.2.

Common error

Students often think slower is always safer in a glide. Slower than best glide actually increases your sink and costs distance.

Best-glide speed gives you:

CFI Tip

Know your airplane’s best-glide number cold — it’s a V-speed. Look it up in your My Aircraft profile / POH; don’t guess it when the prop stops.

Airplane Flying Handbook — Emergency approach & landing

B — Best place to land

Definition

Pick the nearest survivable landing site — and remember it may be another airport within glide range, not just a field. From altitude you have options; commit to one early and fly a stabilized glide to it. Don’t fixate on getting back to your own airport.

Explanation

Weigh wind, surface, slope, obstacles, and size. A paved runway with help on the ground beats an unknown field if it’s reachable — but a field you can actually glide to beats a runway you can’t.

Factor	Pick the option that…
Wind	Land into the wind where you can — slower groundspeed means less energy to absorb.
Surface	Smooth, firm, long: paved > firm field > rough/soft > water or trees. Land along the furrows, not across.
Slope	Land uphill if there’s any grade — it helps you stop.
Obstacles / approach	A clear approach with no wires or trees beats a better field you can’t actually reach.
Size	Long enough to touch down slow and roll out.

Why it matters

The landing spot you pick in the first few seconds shapes everything after. Choosing well — into the wind, firm and long, uphill, clear approach — is the difference between a bent airplane and an injury. Glide ratio (distance per 1,000 ft) is airplane-specific; know yours from the POH.

Common error

Pilots tunnel on returning to the departure airport and glide past better options right under them.

At 4,000 ft AGL the engine fails 6 miles from an airport that’s within your glide range, with a rough field directly below. You:

Airplane Flying Handbook — Emergency approach & landing

C — Checklist / cockpit flow (the 1,500-AGL gate)

Definition

Once airspeed and a spot are handled, run the engine-failure items — but HOW depends on altitude. At or above 1,500 ft AGL: run the memory-item flow, then back it up with the printed checklist. Below 1,500 ft AGL: memory items only — there’s no time to read. Fly the airplane and land it.

Explanation

The memory flow follows what an engine needs to run — fuel, air, spark. Work it fast: fuel selector and mixture, carb heat, magnetos. If it doesn’t catch, commit to the forced landing.

Engine needs…	Memory-item flow (exact items: POH)
Fuel	Selector to BOTH / fullest tank · mixture RICH · boost/aux pump ON (if equipped) · primer in & locked.
Air	Carburetor heat ON (carbureted) · check induction / alternate air.
Spark	Magnetos — check BOTH, then try L, then R.
No restart?	Commit to the forced landing and keep flying the glide — A and B win.

Why it matters

The altitude gate keeps you from burying your head in a checklist when you’re too low to afford it. A leading cause of a stall-spin in a real engine failure is the pilot managing paperwork instead of flying. Memory items are memorized precisely so you can run them without looking down.

Common error

Reaching for the full printed checklist at low altitude is a classic, deadly error.

The engine fails at 900 ft AGL on downwind. You run:

Safety

Below 1,500 AGL, heads-down time is landing you short. Memory items, then eyes outside.

A DPE might ask

What are the memory items for an engine failure in your airplane?
Why the 1,500-foot split between memory items and the checklist?

Airplane Flying Handbook — Emergency procedures (memory items)

D — Declare · E — Explain

Definition

With the airplane flying toward a spot and the memory flow done, get help and prepare the cabin. D — Declare: call the nearest ATC facility or control tower on its frequency and squawk 7700; if the nearest tower is out of range, use 121.5 (guard). Say “Mayday, mayday, mayday.” E — Explain: brief and calm your passengers.

Explanation

Declaring gets you priority, vectors to the nearest airport, and equipment standing by. Transmit who you are, what’s wrong, where you are, your intentions, souls on board, and fuel remaining. Then brief the cabin: brace, harnesses tight, doors unlatched before touchdown, and how to get out.

D / E	Do this
D — Who	Call the nearest tower on its frequency and squawk 7700. Out of range? Use 121.5 (guard). “Mayday” ×3.
D — What to say	Who you are, what’s wrong, where you are, your intentions, souls on board, fuel remaining.
E — Passengers	Brief the brace position, seatbelts & harnesses tight, doors unlatched before touchdown, and how to get out.
Before touchdown	Secure fuel, magnetos, and master per the POH.

Why it matters

The nearest tower already has you on radar and can hand you the closest runway and roll the trucks — which is why you call it before reaching for guard. Unlatching the doors before touchdown matters because a bent airframe can jam them shut; a calm, briefed passenger who knows the exit is one who gets out.

Common error

Many students assume 121.5 is always the first call. If a tower is in range, it can help you faster.

You need to declare an emergency. You:

AIM 6-3 — Distress and urgency; emergency codes

Run ABCDE — and the impossible turn

Definition

Put it together: one emergency, ABCDE end to end. Engine failure at cruise — A best glide, B pick the field or airport, C memory flow then checklist, D nearest tower + 7700, E brief the cabin. Same script every time. The deadliest version is an engine failure just after takeoff — the “impossible turn.”

Explanation

Right after takeoff you’re low, slow, and close to the runway. The instinct to turn back kills, because the turn needs more altitude than you have and the low, over-banked, slow turn stalls and spins into the ground. Below a pre-briefed turnaround altitude, land roughly straight ahead — within about ±30° — pick the best spot in the arc, and fly the airplane to the ground under control.

The impossible turn	What to know
The trap	Engine quits just after takeoff and instinct says turn back to the runway.
Why it kills	The turn-back needs more altitude than you have; the low, over-banked, slow turn stalls and spins in.
The rule	Below a pre-briefed turnaround altitude, land roughly straight ahead (~±30°) under control.
The habit	Brief that altitude before every takeoff: “engine failure below ____ ft, I land ahead.”

Why it matters

The turn-back is the single deadliest response to a power loss for new pilots, and it’s the whole module in one picture: fly the airplane first — a controlled landing ahead beats a stall-spin trying to make the runway. The stick-and-rudder how-to for the engine-out approach and landing is Module 15.

Common error

The urge to save the airplane by turning back to the runway is strong — and it’s exactly the trap.

The engine fails at 300 ft AGL right after takeoff. You:

Airplane Flying Handbook — Emergency procedures; return-to-field