Commercial pilot · ACS CA.IX.A · Instructor lesson plan
Emergency Descent
Student pack: Train: Emergency Descent · Full lesson: Prepare guide
1 · Objective
By the end of this lesson your student can explain emergency descent in their own words, apply it in a realistic situation, and fly it to the ACS standard for CA.IX.A.
Why it matters for safety: Fire and smoke leave minutes; a decompression leaves seconds of useful consciousness. A commercial pilot needs to get down quickly without overstressing the airplane, losing control or colliding with traffic, while managing passengers and ATC.
2 · Assign before the lesson
Pre-work: the free Train pack, Emergency Descent. Down fast and safely, within the airplane's limits: power idle, bank 30-45°, the POH speed and configuration, a smooth level-off.
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Pack: pilotprep.pro/train/cpl/emergency-descent · Full lesson: pilotprep.pro/prepare/cpl/emergency-descent
3 · Teach sequence
Key points to land
- Each cause has its own first actions. Depressurization: oxygen masks on first (100%), talk to the passengers, then descend promptly to about 10,000 feet or the minimum safe altitude. Engine fire: starve it first (mixture idle cutoff, fuel selector off) per the POH, then descend and land as soon as possible. Smoke: the POH checklist, then descend and land. Useful consciousness depends on altitude: about 3 to 5 minutes at 25,000 feet, 30 to 60 seconds at 35,000, less after a rapid decompression.(Airplane Flying Handbook (FAA-H-8083-3C), Emergency Procedures; AIM 8-1-2; AC 61-107, Aircraft Operations at Altitudes Above 25,000 Feet MSL and/or Mach Numbers Greater Than .75)
- Power to idle (propeller forward if controllable), roll into a 30-45° bank to keep a positive load factor, and set the POH speed and configuration.(Airplane Flying Handbook (FAA-H-8083-3C), Emergency Procedures; Commercial Pilot ACS (FAA-S-ACS-7B), CA.IX.A.S4)
- Fly the POH emergency-descent speed: the maximum allowable for the configuration (it may be VNE clean in smooth air, or VLE or VFE configured). In turbulence, slow to VA for the current weight (lower when lighter) or the POH turbulence speed, never above VNE, VLE or VFE. VNO is only the top of the green arc, for smooth air.(Airplane Flying Handbook (FAA-H-8083-3C), Emergency Procedures)
- Clear below before and during the descent; you're descending through other traffic.(AC 90-48, Pilots' Role in Collision Avoidance)
- Pick where you're going on the way down: the nearest suitable airport, with wind, terrain and glide distance in mind.(Airplane Flying Handbook (FAA-H-8083-3C), Emergency Procedures)
- Commercial standard: clear the area (S1); POH airspeed and configuration (S2); keep oriented and plan a smooth recovery (S3); bank 30-45° (S4); airspeed +0/-10 knots and level off ±100 feet (S5); checklists (S6); SRM (S7).(Commercial Pilot ACS (FAA-S-ACS-7B), CA.IX.A.S1-S7)
- Declare on the frequency you're on and squawk 7700; use 121.5 MHz only if you aren't talking to ATC.(AIM, Chapter 6, Emergency Procedures)
When and how
- Engine or cabin fire and smoke: descend and land as soon as possible. Decompression in a pressurized airplane: masks, then descend promptly to about 10,000 feet or the minimum safe altitude, then divert as needed. A critical medical problem: declare and divert to the nearest suitable airport, expedited, which isn't necessarily a maximum-rate descent.(Airplane Flying Handbook (FAA-H-8083-3C), Emergency Procedures)
- Technique: clear first, looking below in the turn for traffic and a landing area; throttle idle, propeller forward, then roll into a 30-45° bank as the nose comes down so the load factor stays positive (no pushover); gear and flaps as the POH says; coordinated. The bank raises the stall speed and a spiral can build speed fast, so divide your attention. Level off by leading it about 10% of the descent rate, raising the nose smoothly.(Your airplane's POH/AFM; Airplane Flying Handbook (FAA-H-8083-3C), Emergency Procedures)
Speeds and performance
- The POH gives the speed: the maximum allowable for the configuration (VNE clean in smooth air, or VLE with the gear down). Know the number for your checkride airplane. In turbulence, slow to VA for your weight or the POH turbulence penetration speed.(Your airplane's POH/AFM)
- With an engine fire, starve it first by the POH checklist (mixture idle cutoff, fuel selector off, fuel pump off), then descend and land as soon as possible. A faster descent may blow out the fire, but the fire may have weakened the structure, so a slower descent puts less stress on it; your POH decides. Never restart an engine whose fire appeared to go out. In a complex airplane, extending the gear (within VLE) adds drag and steepens the descent.(Your airplane's POH/AFM; Airplane Flying Handbook (FAA-H-8083-3C), Transition to Complex and High-Performance Airplanes)
- In training only: end the practice descent once it's established and stable, and avoid long practice descents that overcool a piston engine. Never let that delay a real emergency descent.(Airplane Flying Handbook (FAA-H-8083-3C), Transition to Complex and High-Performance Airplanes)
Where you're going
- Use the GPS nearest function and the chart to pick a suitable airport early; consider wind, terrain, obstacles and runway length.(Airplane Flying Handbook (FAA-H-8083-3C), Emergency Procedures)
- Clear below in the bank, and keep scanning on the way down.(AC 90-48, Pilots' Role in Collision Avoidance)
Staying ahead
- Fly the airplane first. Then the checklist, then communicate: tell ATC, squawk 7700 if needed. Divide attention between the emergency and the airplane.(Airplane Flying Handbook (FAA-H-8083-3C), Emergency Procedures)
Watch for in the airplane: Your instructor watches for clearing, a prompt power reduction and bank, the POH speed and configuration within limits, divided attention, a planned landing area, a smooth level-off, and the checklist.
4 · Ask your student
In order: recall, then understanding, then applying it. Move up only when the answer shows it.
Recall · Why bank 30 to 45 degrees in an emergency descent?
A strong answer: To keep a positive load factor with the nose low, to see below, and to turn toward the landing area.
Understand · Why might the POH have you extend the gear?
A strong answer: Within VLE, the gear adds drag and steepens the descent without more airspeed.
Apply · Smoke fills the cabin at 9,000 feet with passengers aboard. Walk me through it.
A strong answer: Fly the airplane, run the smoke checklist, start an emergency descent to the nearest suitable airport, declare and squawk 7700, keep passengers informed, land as soon as possible.
Scenarios to talk through
In the descent you enter moderate turbulence at VLE with the gear down. What do you do?
Sound decision: Slow to VA for your current weight (or the POH turbulence speed), never above VLE, keep the bank, and continue. VNO is a smooth-air limit, not a turbulence speed.
A passenger has a medical emergency 40 nm from destination; an airport is 10 nm away. What do you do?
Sound decision: Declare and divert to the nearer airport with an expedited descent (not necessarily a maximum-rate emergency descent), and ask ATC to have medical help meet you.
You level off and pull sharply at high speed. What's the risk?
Sound decision: Overstressing the airplane; lead the level-off and raise the nose smoothly.
5 · Common student errors
Diving with power on.
Why it matters: Airspeed builds past limits.
How to correct it: Power to idle first.
Extending gear or flaps above limits.
Why it matters: Damage to gear or flaps.
How to correct it: Only within VLE and VFE.
Not clearing below.
Why it matters: You descend through traffic.
How to correct it: Look below in the bank.
6 · Completion standard
- The POH speed and configuration for the scenario (S2); bank between 30° and 45° to keep positive load factors (S4).
- Airspeed +0/-10 knots; level off at the specified altitude ±100 feet; complete the checklists.
- Your student answers each "Ask your student" question in their own words, up to the Apply level, without prompting.
- They talk through the scenarios and reach a safe, legal decision, explaining why.
- They complete the pack’s quick check and can say what they flagged.
Area trained? Close out with a practice oral focused on CA.IX.A: pilotprep.pro/exam?exam=CPL&focus=CA.IX.A
7 · References
- Airplane Flying Handbook (FAA-H-8083-3C), Emergency Procedures
- Pilot's Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge (FAA-H-8083-25C), Aircraft Systems; Flight Instruments
- Aeronautical Information Manual (AIM), Chapter 6, Emergency Procedures
- 14 CFR Part 91, 91.3, 91.205, 91.207
- Commercial Pilot ACS (FAA-S-ACS-7B), Area IX
- Your airplane's POH/AFM, Emergency Procedures
- Airman Certification Standards, task CA.IX.A
PilotPrep instructor lesson plan, from the Emergency Descent lesson (checked against current FAA sources 2026-11-13). A study and teaching aid, not FAA guidance; teach to your own judgment and the current ACS.