Short field, soft field--off field?

"Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it," said George Santayana, essayist, philosopher, novelist, and poet.

Santayana wasn't a pilot, but a good pilot is always learning, and that includes understanding other pilots' mistakes.

For decades, I've tried to do that by poring over thousands of accident reports from the National Transportation Safety Board, looking for things I can learn from and teach students about. As of February 2006, the NTSB database contained 147,170 accidents and incidents--none of which any pilot would ever want to repeat. We can learn something valuable from every report. Every on-the-record mistake that accident pilots have made from 1962 to the present can be accessed online in one form or another. The AOPA Air Safety Foundation also maintains a GA accident database and a variety of accident analysis information online.

After all this reading and studying, I have come to the conclusion that something is missing in many reports: Although they are indispensable to the aviation community, NTSB accident reports don't go far enough. Admittedly, how much you learn sometimes depends on whether you read the accident brief, the initial accident report, or the full narratives that accompany many accident reports. I try to read all three for each accident.

With respect to content, FAA field inspectors are often more inclined to measure bent widgets and voltages, pick up pieces of wreckage, and say what part broke that caused the engine to quit than they are to seek other avenues of analysis. I'd like to see a little more written about the pilot. But that'll probably never happen because it's easier to say what broke, as opposed to what the pilot did or didn't do to cause the accident. But that's just a personal opinion.

I hold 20 to 30 accident reports in my hand, out of 200 to 300 I've reviewed in the past several weeks. They were computer-sorted from the NTSB database to reflect "engine failure and off-airport landings" that would clearly require, in my mind, some sort of specialty landing: short field, soft or rough terrain, obstruction avoidance, crosswind, etc.

In 2005, there were 1,764 general aviation accidents in the United States. One hundred twenty-seven were off-airport landing accidents that began with an engine failure. That's a little more than 7 percent--not a lot, unless you happen to be one of the pilots involved.

Any off-airport landing requires special landing techniques and procedures which, if properly executed, will very often keep that off-airport landing from becoming an accident. All you need to do is think a little more about the off-airport scenario. Don't just say, "Now that the checkride is over, I'm not doing that stuff any more!" There may come a day when you have little option.

What does off-airport operation require?

Seldom in these reports is there mention of the type of landing made. The report typically says something like, "...made a forced landing in an open field, and the airplane nosed over on touchdown (substantial aircraft damage)." I ask myself, "What did the pilot do? Why did the airplane nose over?"

Another excerpt (part of a 34-line full narrative) states, "During the landing, the airplane's left wing struck a utility pole." I wonder why that happened.

"During the forced landing to a field, the airplane impacted trees" doesn't tell me very much. Here's another one: "Concerned that he might hit a fence at the approach end...the pilot elected to land on a nearby access road...left wing struck a cement retaining wall." The report is otherwise full of comments about switchology, the auxiliary battery versus the main battery, dual ignition systems, a popped five-amp fuse, master relays, solenoids, and the like. Frankly, I am more interested in the pilot's decision-making process as he set up his landing.

I'd like to know more about the environment, the setup of the field, the landing procedures/techniques used, and what happened after touchdown. That information isn't there, so I do my best and tell my students, "These 10 accident reports talk about hitting phone poles while landing on narrow, rural dirt roads. You might think about the kind of road you select, or the kind of landing you should make."

The real problem with that instructional approach is that it leaves too much to chance. The pilot in command probably won't have an instructor to ask that question when the engine quits. That's when training, forethought, practice, "clicking in" the right procedures at the right time, and proficiency count. (Altitude always helps, too.)

When your airplane becomes a glider

Although you always have the choice of whether or not to take off, the option may not apply to landing. If your engine quits, the airplane becomes a glider, and one thing is certain: Even when it is gaining altitude in rising air, a glider is always descending. So will your airplane. How you go about descending can be up to you, but you will run out of altitude. That's when knowing how to make the right kind of landing will save your bacon.

In an emergency the urge to just put it down someplace will be strong. Don't settle for that! Success could well depend on how and how well you can hit a specific spot.

A big help is having the right concept--understanding that "OK" might not be good enough--and having the practiced proficiency to execute that concept correctly.

There is a wealth of specialty landing information in the FAA's Airplane Flying Handbook. How well you should be able to execute them is in the Practical Test Standards. Study both. Search the archives of AOPA Flight Training Online (ft.aopa.org/archives) for another excellent source of articles on the subject.

What-if scenarios

With the concept of "Just anyplace isn't good enough" firmly in mind, begin your off-field landing preparation by setting up a series of scenarios. Imagine that you're on a cross-country, or maybe just a few miles away from your home airport. It makes no difference. The point is that this landing you're about to make is not on a runway.

Stipulate that you're at high altitude for a GA airplane (say 8,000 to 10,000 feet msl, and make sure you know how high that is above the ground, too)--or just admiring the scenery at 1,000 feet or so.

In your mind's eye, simulate either a complete power loss or some other situation that means only one thing: "I'm going to have to get this airplane on the ground right now!"

Any scenario will work: Cross country, local area, or in the pattern; low or high altitude; reduced engine power, imminent failure, or sudden stoppage, and Bang! The realization occurs that there's a real problem.

Understand that, in every scenario--or real-life emergency--decision time arrives. If you are unsure, start asking more questions.

Can you answer these questions?

• What is the landing environment (surface, length, obstructions, winds, etc.)?
• What deliberate, trained procedure do you need to click in now? How do you know that's the one to use?
• What things do you need to be doing, thinking about, and focusing on right now?
• What kind of landing do you have to make happen? It's one thing to think, Get it on the ground safely. It's another to decide the right kind of landing, and what else you need to consider in order to pull it off. You need to answer all these questions in your mental preparation.

Also think about what you might do if you don't have all the answers to your questions when the time comes to execute. Knowing you are mentally proficient because you've thought about it and practiced it is important for confidence.

Types of specialty landings: Pick your click

Do you have a specific situation in mind now? Can you click in the type of landing that satisfies that scenario?

If you're landing in a lush, green farm field at the height of the growing season, think about soft-field technique if the ground seems uniform. Forget about short-field--you'll stop quickly enough.

What if there is new-fallen snow on the ground? Does that make any difference in the landing procedure you select?

Regardless, before touchdown you'll want to reduce your energy as much as possible consistent with maintaining absolute aerodynamic control, and you want to make sure that you don't let the nosegear dig in. Sound like a setup for a soft-field landing? You bet! Was soft-field procedure considered by the pilots involved in some of those accident briefs quoted at the beginning of this article? I don't know, but I'd like to.

Cultivate an ability to "click in" the specific procedure you already know how to perform that best fits the environment you face. Then decide when to consciously click it in to the execution of your emergency landing. Consider the following:

Short field--where the actual landing field (landing roll) is less than normal, your touchdown point and landing roll are important factors in success or failure.

Soft field--when the nature and consistency of the landing surface are such that the touchdown and landing roll must be very gentle, the nosewheel of an airplane equipped with tricycle landing gear will imbed itself in the ground and cause serious directional control, stability, or other problems. Touch down gently and hold the nosewheel off.

Rough field--where the surface is so uneven as to cause similar stability or directional control problems on the landing roll. You should employ a technique similar to soft-field.

Obstructed landings--where the landing site is probably shorter than normal but the most significant impediment is something in the flight path that causes the glide path to be steeper than usual, necessitating a more abrupt flare and magnified short- or soft-field consequences.

Crosswind and or gusty-wind landings--landings in which these elements will influence directional control or handling characteristics close to the ground. Think about it early and maintain positive control while you keep the airplane from drifting.

Wet/icy landing surfaces--here the stopping distances, even off-airport, can be drastically affected and impinge on the safety of the landing.

Finally, there could be situations in which you face short, obstructed soft-field conditions in a crosswind. My only advice is to ask, "How did you get there to begin with?" You have to do the best you can. In such a case I'd try to change my landing spot, if altitude and time permit.

This is the type of realistic situation in which it really helps to have thought about the problem in advance and practiced sizing up various scenarios.

As you mentally approach your well-chosen off-field landing site for that engine-out landing, your mind will probably be going through many scenarios with every imaginable outcome. In real life, there may not be time to consider all of the alternatives. Then what do you do? Evaluate continuously what's going on. Focus on the task at hand and let the procedure you need to execute click in.

When the time comes, definite set-up thoughts like these will help you to automatically focus your procedures and analyses into the right frame of reference to maximize success.

Practice, practice, practice

All too often, there is little opportunity for realistic practice. I was surprised a number of years ago when the examiner who administered a single-engine airline transport pilot checkride to me unexpectedly required me to make a soft-field landing in a pretty stiff crosswind on a gravel strip barely the size of the sand strip it was on. Did I ever have to think soft field on that one!

Insurance companies frequently charge higher premiums for known off-field operations, and some training schools and FBOs prohibit them altogether. Ask about the policy at your flight school. Many businesses renting aircraft will not allow you to land on a grass airstrip--except in an emergency--without one of the school's flight instructors aboard. Take advantage of that loophole and schedule some dual instruction in grass-field operations.

Make every landing count

Why not use every landing you make to practice? Why not pick out a definite, planned touchdown point on the runway for every landing? Then pick out a definite aiming point that will allow you to put it down on the landing point you've selected, given the distance required to dissipate airspeed, complete the flare, etc.

Then--and here's the most important point I want to make--consciously say to yourself, "Anywhere on the runway is not good enough!" Shoot for a specific spot where you want to put that airplane on the ground--and do that on every landing you make. It's important to keep the pressure on during your practice because that's the way it will actually have to be when your engine quits and you have to land on a specific off-airport spot. After selecting a specific touchdown point comes the second most important consideration. Simulate a specific type of situation for every landing you make: normal, no-flap, short-field, or soft-field landing--perhaps over simulated approach obstructions. When you feel you have each type wired, increase the degree of difficulty by combining two or more of these considerations. You might even deliberately go out looking for a runway with a crosswind (within the capability of both yourself and the airplane you're flying) and concentrate on that.

Then, if a day comes that you have to put it down on a specific point--for real--you'll have the confidence to do that, under whatever circumstances you face.

If you want to spend your time and money in a way that will pay even more dividends, grab a good flight instructor every now and then for a few emergency procedures and a little specialty takeoff and landing practice. And don't forget to determine and click in the required procedure--every time you land.

Wally Miller is president of an aviation training, consulting, and marketing firm in Monument, Colorado. He is a Gold Seal CFI who has been instructing for more than 30 years and flying for more than 40.