Flight Training - May 2012 - 28

HOLD ’EM, OR DROP ’EM?
A great way to start a hangar argument is with the question of how to make a forced landing with retractable gear. Are you better off keeping it up or putting it down? First the good news: Either way, your odds are pretty good, as long as the airplane touches down under positive control. A quick check of five years’ worth of forced landings in retracts found that in 84 percent, everyone on board survived. Impacts with the airplane out of control are fatal just about that often. The main tradeoff is between inevitable damage to the airplane— not necessarily catastrophic—in a gear-up landing and more serious injuries if the gear snags and it noses over. The surface below has a lot to do with that. In a gear-down water ditching, a noseover is almost certain. The airplane will be totaled anyway, so keep the wheels up. If you’re over a turf farm or deserted highway, though, it’s almost a normal landing. The airplane could escape damage altogether, so put ’em down. With plowed fields, gear-up is best if the crops are tall or you have to land across the furrows. On ranchland, lower the gear only if the terrain is smooth and free of obstacles like barbed-wire fences or boulders. —David Jack Kenny, Air Safety Institute

No matter how much altitude you have available, avoid the common error of denial: frantically attempting to restart an engine that may never restart, all while losing precious altitude and airspeed. Instead, immediately adjust pitch attitude to obtain the best/recommended glide speed (don’t forget to trim as you slow down) while simultaneously scanning for your best landing site option.

could get help more quickly after landing. A cross-furrow landing will increase the chances of flipping the airplane over onto its back after touchdown, so for retractable-gear aircraft, a gear-up landing might be preferable if a cross-furrow landing becomes your only option (see “Hold ’Em, or Drop ’Em?” above).

STEP THREE:
GLIDE/MANEUVER TO A KEY POSITION.

gency landing site selection, time is of the essence. Get in the excellent habit of scanning the area immediately ahead of the aircraft during every takeoff and throughout the initial climb, so you’ll have a maneuvering plan in mind should the engine fail right after any takeoff. Doing this helps eliminate the deer-in-the-headlights reaction should the engine fail at a critically low altitude. When selecting a field from higher altitudes, if you have a map display in your aircraft, a quick scan for nearby airports or selecting the “nearest airport” function of a GPS would be a great way to begin your search. If an off-airport landing is required, consider the fields nearest the aircraft first, widening your scan as necessary until your best/nearest option is determined. Plan to land aligned with (parallel to) any plowed furrows (if present) but as much into the wind as possible, and preferably near a house or farm so you
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LANDING SITE SELECTION. For emer-

STEP TWO:

To a large extent, the altitude you have available when the engine fails will determine your maneuvering options. If the engine fails with only 500 feet available, you’re already on base or short final to whatever fields you see. A 180-degree turn from 500 feet is not advisable, or even possible in many GA aircraft. Above 1,000 feet, once a landing site has been selected, you should immediately visualize a plan that enables you to reach a point approximately abeam of the landing site at about 1,000 feet above the ground. This position, known as the “key position,” is where your final approach to a safe landing begins. Think of being abeam the numbers on the downwind leg of an airport traffic pattern. With plenty of excess altitude, reaching this key position might require one or more 360-degree turns over your landing site while descending to the 1,000-foot target. Be prepared to adjust your final turn radius to ensure reaching 1,000 feet agl at the same time you arrive at the key position. While gliding at best-recommended

glide speed, maximize the time you have by reducing all drag as much as possible: landing gear—Up; flaps—Up; propeller control—Low rpm. Avoid a plan that includes simply flying a straight line to the planned runway without any maneuvering; if you misjudge you could easily fall short of your selected field. The ability to consistently “connect the dots” by maneuvering from the point of the engine failure to arrive at the key position at the correct altitude requires excellent skill and judgment and is the most challenging aspect to master, but it is absolutely essential to a consistently safe and effective completion of the engine-out emergency procedure.

established in your maneuvering plan to reach the key position, you can begin to confirm whether you truly need to be making an emergency landing at all. Statistically, most engines fail because of pilot-induced fuel mismanagement. Begin your engine restart attempts by adjusting (enrich and/or lean) the fuel mixture, turning on the fuel boost pump (if installed), and selecting a different fuel tank. This leaves only a few other corrections that might possibly bring life back to your engine: carburetor heat or engine alternate air—On; ignition switches checked—On; fuel primer—In and locked; magneto— Both. Outside of pumping the throttle to

ENGINE RESTART FLOW. Once you are

STEP FOUR:

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Flight Training - May 2012

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Flight Training - May 2012