Private pilot · ACS PA.IX.B · Instructor lesson plan

Emergency Approach and Landing (Simulated)

Student pack: Train: Emergency Approach and Landing (Simulated) · Full lesson: Prepare guide

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1 · Objective

By the end of this lesson your student can explain emergency approach and landing (simulated) in their own words, apply it in a realistic situation, and fly it to the ACS standard for PA.IX.B.

Why it matters for safety: Most engine failures in light airplanes still end with everyone walking away, when the pilot keeps flying the airplane, picks a field early and lands under control. The fatal ones are usually loss of control: stretching a glide, a low turn back, a stall. Practicing the sequence until it’s automatic is what keeps an engine failure a survivable landing.

2 · Assign before the lesson

Pre-work: the free Train pack, Emergency Approach and Landing (Simulated). Engine out: best glide, pick a field, try a restart, declare, secure the engine, and fly a stabilized approach to it.

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Pack: pilotprep.pro/train/ppl/emergency-approach-and-landing · Full lesson: pilotprep.pro/prepare/ppl/emergency-approach-and-landing

3 · Teach sequence

Key points to land

Pitch for best glide speed right away and trim so the airplane holds it hands-off (±10 knots) while you pick a field, troubleshoot and talk; holding it by hand is what lets the airspeed wander when you're heads-down.(Airplane Flying Handbook (FAA-H-8083-3C), Emergency Procedures; Private Pilot ACS (FAA-S-ACS-6C), PA.IX.B.S1)
Pick a field within gliding distance, preferably into the wind, with no wires or obstacles on the approach.(Airplane Flying Handbook (FAA-H-8083-3C), Emergency Procedures)
Then troubleshoot per the POH for your airplane (a typical trainer flow: fuel selector to a tank with fuel, fuel pump on, mixture rich, carburetor heat on, magnetos both, primer in and locked), if you have the altitude. If it won't restart, secure it before landing: mixture cutoff, fuel off, magnetos off, master off after flaps, doors unlatched.(Your airplane's POH/AFM)
Minimum sink speed (slower than best glide) keeps you in the air longest but covers less distance: use it only when time aloft matters more than reaching a field, and remember it's close to the stall.(Airplane Flying Handbook (FAA-H-8083-3C), Emergency Procedures)
A headwind shortens the glide over the ground; a tailwind lengthens it. Lighter weight lowers best glide speed but not the glide ratio.(Airplane Flying Handbook (FAA-H-8083-3C), Emergency Procedures)
Declare: the frequency you’re on (121.5 if you can't reach anyone) and 7700. Switch the ELT on manually before an off-airport touchdown if you can; a 406 MHz ELT is detected by satellites, while 121.5 is only a homing signal now.(AIM, Chapter 6, Emergency Procedures)
Manage the energy to the field: plan to be abeam the touchdown point at about pattern altitude; if high, widen the pattern and use S-turns, a forward slip and flaps; if low, tighten it, delay the flaps, and never stretch the glide. It’s far better to land under control in a poor field than to stall trying to reach a better one.(Airplane Flying Handbook (FAA-H-8083-3C), Emergency Procedures)

The first seconds

A common memory aid is ABC: Airspeed (best glide), Best field, Checklist. Then declare the emergency and execute the landing.(Airplane Flying Handbook (FAA-H-8083-3C), Emergency Procedures)
Your POH’s engine failure checklist comes next, in its order: the items and sequence are airplane-specific. A typical trainer flow is fuel selector to a tank with fuel, fuel pump on, mixture rich, carburetor heat on, magnetos both, primer in and locked.(Your airplane's POH/AFM)
The restart checklist and the forced-landing checklist are different. If the engine won't restart and the landing is assured, run the POH emergency landing (forced landing) checklist: fuel selector off, mixture idle cutoff, ignition off, flaps set as needed, master switch off only after electric flaps are set, doors unlatched before touchdown, belts and harnesses tight, passengers briefed and braced. Fuel and electrics off reduce the fire risk if the landing is hard.(Your airplane's POH/AFM; Airplane Flying Handbook (FAA-H-8083-3C), Emergency Procedures)

Airspeed and gliding

Best glide speed gives the greatest distance per altitude lost. It’s in the POH for maximum weight; at lower weight it’s a little slower, but the glide ratio doesn’t change.(Airplane Flying Handbook (FAA-H-8083-3C), Emergency Procedures)
Minimum sink speed is slower: it maximizes time aloft, for example to troubleshoot or wait, not distance. Never use it when you must reach a field. It's flown close to the stall, so keep banks shallow and coordinated and add margin in turns: the stall speed and both glide speeds rise with bank and load factor.(Airplane Flying Handbook (FAA-H-8083-3C), Emergency Procedures)
The atmosphere: the indicated best glide speed and the glide ratio through the air don't change with density altitude, but the true airspeed, groundspeed and sink rate are higher, so you have less time aloft and a faster touchdown and longer roll. A headwind reduces the distance over the ground (glide slightly faster than best glide into a strong one); a tailwind increases it.(Airplane Flying Handbook (FAA-H-8083-3C), Emergency Procedures)

Choosing and flying to the field

Choose a field within easy glide: long, firm, into the wind, free of wires and obstacles on the approach. Roads have wires, signs and traffic; fields have furrows: land along them.(Airplane Flying Handbook (FAA-H-8083-3C), Emergency Procedures)
Plan a pattern to the field, a key point on downwind or base, and adjust with the turn to base, flaps and slips. A stabilized approach still applies.(Airplane Flying Handbook (FAA-H-8083-3C), Emergency Procedures)
Commit to the field once you’ve planned it; changing late to a "better" field often leaves you short.(Airplane Flying Handbook (FAA-H-8083-3C), Emergency Procedures)
Best glide is the travel speed. Once the field is assured, extend full flaps per the POH and slow to the POH final approach speed, touching down in the first part of the field at minimum controllable airspeed. Don’t extend the flaps so early that you fall short.(Your airplane's POH/AFM)

Getting help

Tell ATC (or use 121.5 MHz) and squawk 7700. ATC can give the nearest airport, vectors and alert rescue.(AIM, Chapter 6, Emergency Procedures)
An ELT activates on impact, and you can usually switch it on manually before an off-airport touchdown. 406 MHz ELTs are detected by the Cospas-Sarsat satellites and identify and locate your airplane; they also send a 121.5 MHz homing signal, which satellites stopped monitoring in 2009. Other ways to be found: your ADS-B track, a cell phone, a personal locator beacon. After landing: evacuate, account for everyone, and stay with the airplane (see Emergency Equipment and Survival Gear).(AIM, Chapter 6, Emergency Procedures)

Low and slow

Near the ground, the danger is stretching the glide or turning steeply at low speed: both can stall and spin. Keep best glide speed and coordinated turns.(Airplane Flying Handbook (FAA-H-8083-3C), Emergency Procedures)
Engine failure after takeoff at low altitude: lower the nose at once to keep flying speed, land straight ahead or within about 30° either side of the nose, don't turn back to the runway, and don't try a restart (there's no time). Secure the airplane only if time permits, and land under control.(Airplane Flying Handbook (FAA-H-8083-3C), Emergency Procedures)
Keep scanning for traffic and wires as you descend into the landing area.(AC 90-48, Pilots' Role in Collision Avoidance)
Workload is high: prioritize control, the field and the approach; the radio call is short.(Risk Management Handbook (FAA-H-8083-2A))

Watch for in the airplane: Your instructor watches whether you pitch for best glide immediately, pick a reachable field quickly, use the checklist, plan a sensible pattern to the field, keep the airspeed, and avoid stretching the glide.

4 · Ask your student

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

Recall · What is the difference between best glide and minimum sink speed?
A strong answer: Best glide gives the most distance for the altitude. Minimum sink is slower and keeps me in the air longest, but covers less ground.
Understand · Why choose a field into the wind?
A strong answer: A headwind lowers the groundspeed at touchdown, so the landing is slower and shorter.
Apply · Your engine quits at 3,000 feet AGL. Talk me through it.
A strong answer: Best glide right away, pick a field into the wind within reach, turn toward it, then the restart checklist. Squawk 7700 and call. If it won't restart, secure it: mixture cutoff, fuel off, mags off, master off after the flaps, doors unlatched, passengers briefed. Plan a pattern to the field, flaps when I have it made, and land under control.

Scenarios to talk through

Halfway to your chosen field, you see a nicer one a bit farther away. Do you switch?
Sound decision: Only if you’re certain you can reach it with margin. Changing late often leaves you short; a planned approach to a decent field is safer.
You’re lighter than gross weight. How does that change your glide?
Sound decision: Best glide speed is slightly lower, but the glide ratio, and so the distance, is about the same.
Short of the field, you’re tempted to raise the nose to stretch the glide. What happens?
Sound decision: Below best glide, you lose distance and approach a stall. Hold best glide, and land straight ahead in the best available spot if you can’t make it.

5 · Common student errors

Slow to set best glide.
Why it matters: Every second at the wrong speed costs distance.
How to correct it: Pitch for best glide first, before anything else.
Too much time troubleshooting.
Why it matters: You run out of altitude to plan the landing.
How to correct it: Field first, then the checklist if there’s time.
Flaps too early.
Why it matters: You fall short of the field.
How to correct it: Extend flaps when the field is assured.

6 · Completion standard

Establish and maintain the recommended best glide airspeed ±10 knots.
Select a suitable landing area and plan and follow a flightpath to it, considering altitude, wind, terrain and obstructions.
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 PA.IX.B: pilotprep.pro/exam?exam=PPL&focus=PA.IX.B

7 · References

Airplane Flying Handbook (FAA-H-8083-3C), Emergency Procedures; Upset Prevention and Recovery
Pilot's Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge (FAA-H-8083-25C), Aerodynamics of Flight; Flight Instruments; Aircraft Systems
Aeronautical Information Manual (AIM), Chapter 6, Emergency Procedures
14 CFR Part 91, 91.3, 91.205, 91.207
Private Pilot ACS (FAA-S-ACS-6C), Areas VII and IX
Your airplane's POH/AFM, Section 3, Emergency Procedures
Airman Certification Standards, task PA.IX.B

PilotPrep instructor lesson plan, from the Emergency Approach and Landing (Simulated) lesson (checked against current FAA sources 2026-11-12). A study and teaching aid, not FAA guidance; teach to your own judgment and the current ACS.