We climbed out to check for damage. An aged connecting rod had let go, sending shrapnel through the crankcase.
Preparing for the worst
Catastrophic engine failures like this are rare, given good maintenance and attention to warning signs like excessive oil usage or metal flakes in a filter. You may fly your entire career without having an engine so much as hiccup, but several of my former students have experienced engine failures. All landed their airplanes with no injury or damage. Training evidently pays off.
Single-engine airplanes must, with few exceptions, have a certificated landing-configuration stall speed of 61 knots or less--in many cases, a lot less. That gives occupants a better chance of surviving an off-airport landing, because kinetic energy increases by the square of the speed; doubling the speed at impact causes four times the force.
Our finest example of expert airmanship, Bob Hoover, has been widely quoted as saying "Fly as far into the crash as possible," meaning that using the controls to reduce impact forces, even while sliding to a halt, will reduce the chances of injury. Keeping control and minimizing the impact, along with secured restraints and fire precautions, should bring everyone through.
Misconceptions exist about comparing the crashworthiness of airplanes with automobiles. Airplanes can conveniently absorb some crash energy in their flexible structure and during the shedding of components (landing gear, wings, aft fuselage, powerplant), to the benefit of cabin occupants. If suitable anchorage is found for the restraints, seat integrity is maintained, and objects in the cabin are kept from flying about, the relatively slow deceleration of an airplane crash can be amazingly survivable.
Priorities
If faced with a forced landing, as with any complex task, you'll have to establish priorities. Given in order of importance, job one is to fly the airplane. If you're climbing out, get the nose down to keep airspeed from dropping off. If at cruise speed, sacrifice no altitude until you've trimmed to your best gliding speed. The published speed for a clean glide in Section 3 of the pilot's operating handbook will provide the most forward distance in still air. If you can't remember it, use 1.4 times the clean stall speed, or just go to your normal approach speed adjusted for no flaps.
Job two is to start looking for the best place to land. If I'm up high, cruising along on a cross-country, I'm probably going to turn toward the closest airport, which I should have been keeping an eye on. If there's no airport nearby, I'll look for open, flat ground; it's better to select a large field you can comfortably reach than a small, perfect spot at the very limit of your gliding range.
If I'm down near traffic pattern altitude, there's little time to be wasted in getting established on a downwind leg or possibly a base leg. I'll have to look to my sides or 90 degrees to my nose in an upwind direction. Circling into a field directly under the airplane is going to require at least 1,000 feet of altitude, probably more; if you're already lower than that, consider 90 or 180 degrees of turn as the best options.
What kind of area are you looking for? Open fields are obviously best; if cultivated, you'd prefer to land with the furrows of row crops to minimize damage. Upslope is better than downhill, and a flat field is better than a terraced one. A clearing beats woods, dry land is preferable to water, and landing near a dwelling can mean a shorter walk for help.
Highways are narrow, requiring precision landing skills, and they're usually lined with signs, poles, ditches, and mailboxes--and may be criss-crossed with unseen wires. Traffic is a hazard as well. In the sparsely settled Western states, however, a vacant stretch of road might be your best choice.
Job three is to make an attempt to rectify the situation; it would make sense to prevent the landing if you can. Engines need fuel, ignition, and air in order to function. Work quickly to correct the fault among these three and perhaps power can be restored. Propellers generally windmill, keeping the engine cranking until fuel once again flows or plugs once again spark.
Air intake blockage is rarely the problem, but the possibility shouldn't be overlooked. Get the carburetor heat knob moved to Hot immediately; residual heat will rapidly dissipate once the fire goes out. By seeking an alternate air intake for the engine, you've also bypassed any problems with the normal inlet and its filter, duct, and valves.
Fuel flow is the elixir of life for engines; switch on the auxiliary fuel pump if you have one and turn the fuel selector to another tank, even if you know you can't be out of fuel. Try adjusting the mixture control to see if there's any change. Use any means to get fuel to the engine; airplanes have been brought home using the primer pump.
Ignition is sparked from dual sources and doesn't often fail totally. More typically, you'll see a rough engine or lower rpm if there's an ignition fault. It doesn't hurt to switch to a single magneto to see if power picks up again; try the left and right mags individually. Even jiggling the key might help.
Above all, keep flying the airplane. Don't let your diagnostics interfere with control of airspeed or staying close to your emergency landing site.
The fourth item is intentionally placed last on my list of priorities. Only after the first three tasks are well under control should you consider keying the microphone and making an emergency call. After you let someone know you're on the way to the ground, there's not a lot they can do except mark the spot. Turn the volume down and concentrate on the more important task of getting the airplane down safely.
That said, it makes a huge difference whether your engine failure occurs down over the treetops or several thousand feet high while you're receiving VFR traffic advisories. In the latter case, a quick call to request a vector to the nearest airport may be in order. The point is that your survival depends on taking charge of aircraft control and selection of a field, not seeking help on the radio.
Most of the forced landing practice we'll do in primary training assumes a totally dead, unresponsive engine. A successful outcome is considered to be finding and maneuvering to reach a suitable landing spot. When final approach is attained with altitude to spare, the power will magically be restored and you can go home. Had it been an actual emergency, however....
Hitting the spot
Pick a field that's clearly reachable, not the one far ahead over the nose. Ideally, you'd like to circle it to check for obstacles and condition. If there's not enough altitude for that, set up a partial pattern for a good view. Monitor your altitude and fly the pattern closer to the field if you start to run short. Don't get caught downwind of the field at low altitude; stay tight and add drag to steepen the approach as needed.
Pick up an extra five knots over the best glide speed as you enter the landing pattern; that's a bit of extra energy you can use to "stretch" the glide if you hit a pocket of strong sink. Put down one-third to one-half flaps as you turn base; you can retract the flaps if you need a flatter glide, as long as you make the decision early enough. Stay slightly high and fast, then add full flaps to bring the airplane down where you want it.
You can practice these engine-out landings at your home field, traffic permitting, by circling down from 3,000 feet agl, rolling out on a downwind leg, and flying a tight pattern. Leave the engine at idle in case you need it, and learn how much altitude is required to make a comfortable circling approach.
Your ingrained forced landing skills should take charge in an engine-out situation. This allows you to concentrate on the uniqueness of the case, like dodging an obstruction or shifting your priorities to fit the time available. You'll survive not by luck, but by putting your training to work.
LeRoy Cook has been an active flight instructor since 1965 and has had more than 1,350 articles published. His books include Flying the Flight Retractables and 101 Things to Do With Your Private License.
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Links to additional resources about the topics discussed in this article are available at AOPA Flight Training Online.
