NewStart →
← Lesson plans

Instrument rating · ACS IR.VII.D · Instructor lesson plan

Approach with Loss of Primary Flight Instruments

Student pack: Train: Approach with Loss of Primary Flight Instruments · Full lesson: Prepare guide

Instructors: sign in to edit and approve your own version.

1 · Objective

By the end of this lesson your student can explain approach with loss of primary flight instruments in their own words, apply it in a realistic situation, and fly it to the ACS standard for IR.VII.D.

Why it matters for safety: A failed attitude or heading indicator is dangerous mainly because it fails quietly: a tilting gyro looks like a real bank, and pilots follow it into an upset. Recognizing the failure early, covering it, and flying a simple approach on the remaining instruments is a proven way to land safely.

2 · Assign before the lesson

Pre-work: the free Train pack, Approach with Loss of Primary Flight Instruments. Partial panel: spot the failure, cover it, tell ATC, and fly the approach on what’s left.

Anyone can open this link, no account needed. To see who trained it on your roster, use a free instructor account.

Pack: pilotprep.pro/train/ifr/approach-with-loss-of-primary-flight-instrument-indicators · Full lesson: pilotprep.pro/prepare/ifr/approach-with-loss-of-primary-flight-instrument-indicators

3 · Teach sequence

Key points to land

  • Recognize the failure: instruments disagree, a suction or electrical warning, a red X. Find the odd one out by cross-checking.(Instrument Flying Handbook (FAA-H-8083-15B), Emergency Operations)
  • Cover the failed instrument so it can’t mislead you.(Instrument Flying Handbook (FAA-H-8083-15B), Emergency Operations)
  • Report it to ATC as soon as practical (91.187): your identification, the equipment affected, how much it impairs your IFR capability, and the help you want. Declaring an emergency (91.3) is a separate choice, made when you need priority.(14 CFR 91.187; 91.3)
  • Without the attitude indicator: pitch from the airspeed, altimeter and VSI; bank from the turn coordinator.(Instrument Flying Handbook (FAA-H-8083-15B), Airplane Attitude Instrument Flying)
  • Without the heading indicator: timed standard-rate turns (3° per second; roll out on the turn coordinator when the time is up) and the magnetic compass, read only in straight, level, unaccelerated flight (UNOS in turns, ANDS with speed changes). The turn coordinator is primary for bank; the altimeter is primary for pitch.(Instrument Flying Handbook (FAA-H-8083-15B), Emergency Operations)
  • On glass: a display failure is fixed by reversion (the data moves to the other screen); a sensor failure (AHRS or air data) shows a red X that stays in reversion. Then fly the standby instruments and tell ATC.(Advanced Avionics Handbook (FAA-H-8083-6))

Recognizing the failure

  • Failure modes depend on the power source. Vacuum: the attitude and heading indicators drift and precess slowly while the suction gauge reads low. Electric: usually a warning flag or an abrupt loss. Check your POH for which gyro runs on which source; don't assume the turn coordinator survives every failure.(Instrument Flying Handbook (FAA-H-8083-15B), Emergency Operations; Your airplane's POH/AFM)
  • Electrical failure: electric gyros, the PFD and the radios may go. Shed load per the POH to save the battery.(Your airplane's POH/AFM)
  • AHRS or air data failure on glass: red X on attitude, heading, airspeed or altitude. Use the standby instruments.(Advanced Avionics Handbook (FAA-H-8083-6))
  • Pitot-static failures affect airspeed and altitude; see the instruments lesson for patterns.(Instrument Flying Handbook (FAA-H-8083-15B))

Flying it

  • Use the backup: standby attitude, the MFD in reversion, or the turn coordinator and pitot-static instruments.(Advanced Avionics Handbook (FAA-H-8083-6))
  • Fly gently: standard-rate turns or less, small pitch changes, and trim.(Instrument Flying Handbook (FAA-H-8083-15B), Emergency Operations)
  • The autopilot: disconnect it first. Re-engage only if the POH shows it doesn't use the failed source and it then tracks correctly, with your hand on the disconnect; expect to hand-fly on the checkride.(Advanced Avionics Handbook (FAA-H-8083-6); Your airplane's POH/AFM)
  • Choose the simplest approach available, ideally with good weather. A no-gyro approach is a radar procedure (ASR, PAR or vectors): make standard-rate turns the moment ATC says "turn right" or "turn left", stop on "stop turn", and use half-standard rate on final only after ATC tells you to.(AIM 5-4-11)

Managing the workload

  • Declare an emergency if you need priority. ATC can clear the way and give you time.(Instrument Flying Handbook (FAA-H-8083-15B), Emergency Operations)
  • Prioritize aircraft control; let the radios and charts wait a few seconds. Use every resource (SRM): ATC, the autopilot if trustworthy, a passenger to hold a light or read a frequency.(Risk Management Handbook (FAA-H-8083-2A))
  • Expect disorientation: a gyro that tumbled or drifted slowly has already fed you false cues, and the leans are common afterward. Believe the instruments that still work.(Instrument Flying Handbook (FAA-H-8083-15B))

Watch for in the airplane: Your instructor watches for quick recognition, covering the failed instrument, a clear call to ATC, and smooth control on the remaining instruments.

4 · Ask your student

In order: recall, then understanding, then applying it. Move up only when the answer shows it.

  1. Recall · Without the attitude indicator, which instruments give you pitch and bank?

    A strong answer: Pitch from the airspeed indicator, altimeter and VSI; bank from the turn coordinator.

  2. Understand · Why cover a failed instrument?

    A strong answer: Because my eyes will keep going back to it and believing it. Covering it takes it out of the scan.

  3. Apply · In cloud, the suction gauge reads zero and the attitude indicator starts to tilt. What do you do?

    A strong answer: Cover the attitude and heading indicators, fly on the turn coordinator and pitot-static instruments, tell ATC I’ve lost my vacuum instruments, and ask for vectors to the best weather and a no-gyro approach if needed.

Scenarios to talk through

  • Your PFD goes blank. What do you do first?

    Sound decision: Fly on the standby instruments, then switch the MFD to reversionary mode per the POH, and tell ATC.

  • With no heading indicator, ATC says "turn right, stop turn". What kind of approach is this?

    Sound decision: A no-gyro radar approach: start a standard-rate turn at once, stop on "stop turn", and use half-standard rate on final only after ATC says so.

  • The nearest airport has an ILS but low weather; another 30 miles away is VFR. Where do you go?

    Sound decision: Probably the VFR airport if the airplane is controllable and fuel allows: the simplest approach to the best weather.

5 · Common student errors

  • Following the failed gyro.

    Why it matters: It leads into an upset.

    How to correct it: Cross-check and cover it.

  • Not telling ATC.

    Why it matters: They can’t help.

    How to correct it: Say what failed and what you need.

  • Steep turns partial panel.

    Why it matters: Easy to overbank.

    How to correct it: Standard rate or less.

6 · Completion standard

  • Advise ATC or the evaluator if unable to comply with a clearance.
  • Complete a non-precision instrument approach without the primary flight instruments, to the IR.VI.A standards: before final, altitude ±100 feet, heading ±10°, airspeed ±10 knots; on final, no more than ¾-scale CDI deflection, airspeed ±10 knots, and the MDA +100/-0 feet.
  • Use single-pilot resource management (or CRM, as appropriate).
  • 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 IR.VII.D: pilotprep.pro/exam?exam=IFR&focus=IR.VII.D

7 · References

  • Instrument Flying Handbook (FAA-H-8083-15B), Human factors; attitude instrument flying; basic maneuvers; emergency operations
  • Advanced Avionics Handbook (FAA-H-8083-6), Automation
  • Instrument Rating ACS (FAA-S-ACS-8C), Areas IV and VII
  • Airman Certification Standards, task IR.VII.D

PilotPrep instructor lesson plan, from the Approach with Loss of Primary Flight Instruments 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.