Commercial pilot · ACS CA.IX.D
Emergency Equipment and Survival Gear
Emergency equipment only helps if it's on board, working and understood by the people who might use it.
Why this one matters
Surviving a forced landing is often the first half of the problem; being found and staying alive until rescue is the second. A commercial pilot carrying passengers is responsible for having the right equipment, knowing how to use it, and making sure passengers do too.
Can’t miss
- •ELT rules (91.207): inspected every 12 calendar months; batteries replaced (or recharged) after more than 1 cumulative hour of use or when 50% of their useful life (or charge) has passed, with the new date marked on the transmitter and in the records. Testing (AIM 6-2-4): per the manufacturer, preferably shielded or self-test with no signal radiated; the first-5-minutes-after-the-hour, three-sweep window is only for an analog 121.5/243 MHz ELT (coordinate other times with the tower); a 406 MHz ELT is tested only per the manufacturer; never in the air.(14 CFR 91.207; AIM 6-2-4)
- •406 MHz ELTs are detected by satellite; register yours with NOAA. 121.5 MHz is no longer monitored by satellite.(AIM, Chapter 6, Emergency Procedures)
- •A fire extinguisher (PASS): pull the pin, aim at the base, squeeze, sweep. Use an agent rated for the fire class and approved for aircraft. A hand unit lasts only about 8 to 10 seconds, so cut the power for an electrical fire and make the first sweep count; ventilate right after, since some agents are harmful in a closed space.(Airplane Flying Handbook (FAA-H-8083-3C), Emergency Procedures)
- •Carry survival gear for 48 to 72 hours: water, shelter, clothing, signaling, first aid, suited to the terrain, the climate and water if you're flying over it.(Airplane Flying Handbook (FAA-H-8083-3C), Emergency Procedures)
- •Ballistic parachute (if equipped), per its POH: decide the triggers before flight (loss of control, structural failure, incapacitation, an engine failure with no safe landing site); slow as much as possible within the maximum demonstrated deployment speed (pull anyway if time or altitude is short); remove the cover and pull the handle straight down with both hands; mixture cutoff if time allows; belts tight, brace.(Your airplane's POH/AFM)
- •Emergency autoland (if equipped): passengers can activate it if the pilot is incapacitated. Brief them on how.(Your airplane's POH/AFM)
- •Brief passengers on every piece of equipment: belts (91.107 requires the belt and harness briefing), plus exits, extinguisher, survival kit, parachute or autoland (the ACS asks for these; 91.519 lists them for large and turbine multiengine airplanes).(14 CFR 91.107; Commercial Pilot ACS (FAA-S-ACS-7B), CA.IX.D.S2)
What you should know
ELT and fire extinguisher K1 · K2
- The ELT activates on impact or manually. Test it per the manufacturer, preferably shielded or by self-test with nothing radiated; the first 5 minutes after the hour, no more than three audio sweeps, applies only to an analog 121.5/243 MHz ELT (coordinate any other time with the tower); a 406 MHz ELT only per the manufacturer; never in the air. Automatic activation needs the switch in ARMED; a 406 MHz ELT must be registered with NOAA. After a hard landing, check 121.5 MHz to make sure it isn't going off.(14 CFR 91.207; AIM, Chapter 6, Emergency Procedures)
- Inspection every 12 calendar months; battery replaced or recharged after more than 1 cumulative hour of use or at 50% of useful life (or charge), with the new expiration date marked on the transmitter and in the maintenance record.(14 CFR 91.207)
- Extinguishers: know the type (halon or a replacement agent for cockpit fires), check the gauge and inspection tag, keep it mounted within reach, and ventilate after use.(Airplane Flying Handbook (FAA-H-8083-3C), Emergency Procedures)
Gear for where you fly K3 · R1
- Hot climates: water first, shade, sun protection. Cold: insulated clothing, shelter, fire-starting. Mountains: warm layers, signaling, a beacon. Over water: for hire beyond power-off gliding distance from shore, 91.205(b)(12) requires approved flotation gear for each occupant and a pyrotechnic signal; a raft is prudent. Wear the vests on long overwater legs, put them on before ditching, and don't inflate them until you're out of the airplane (inflated inside a flooding cabin, they trap you).(Airplane Flying Handbook (FAA-H-8083-3C), Emergency Procedures)
- Plan for 48 to 72 hours: water, clothing, shelter, signaling (mirror, whistle, flares), first aid and a personal locator beacon.(Airplane Flying Handbook (FAA-H-8083-3C), Emergency Procedures)
Parachutes and autoland K4 · K5 · R2 · R3
- A ballistic parachute is used per the POH: loss of control, structural damage, pilot incapacitation, or an engine failure over terrain with no landing option. Decide on the triggers before the flight, and don't delay: slow down within the deployment speed, pull the handle straight down with both hands, mixture cutoff if time allows, then brace.(Your airplane's POH/AFM)
- Brief passengers on the parachute handle, the seat position and when to pull it, as the POH describes.(Your airplane's POH/AFM)
- Emergency autoland flies to a suitable airport and lands; it's for pilot incapacitation. Brief passengers how and when to activate it.(Your airplane's POH/AFM)
Scenarios
Decide what you would do first, then see the worked answer.
After landing you hear a warbling tone on 121.5 MHz.
What do you check? See the worked answer
Whether your own ELT activated; turn it off and tell the nearest ATC or FSS facility.
AIM, Chapter 6, Emergency Procedures
Your airplane has a ballistic parachute and the engine quits over forest at 2,500 feet AGL.
What do you consider? See the worked answer
With no safe landing site and above the POH minimum altitude, deploying the parachute per the POH may be the best option.
Your airplane's POH/AFM
A charter over a lake beyond gliding distance from shore.
What do you need? See the worked answer
For hire beyond power-off gliding distance: approved flotation gear readily available to each occupant and a pyrotechnic signaling device (91.205(b)(12)); a raft is prudent. Brief putting the vests on and not inflating them until outside the airplane.
14 CFR 91.205(b)(12)
Common mistakes
Survival gear that doesn't fit the trip.
Desert kits don't help in the mountains in winter.
Instead: Pack for the terrain and season.
No passenger briefing.
Passengers can't help if they don't know.
Instead: Brief equipment and exits every flight.
Testing the ELT the wrong way.
It looks like a real alert.
Instead: Per the manufacturer, preferably shielded; the first-5-minutes, three-sweep window is only for an analog ELT; a 406 MHz ELT only by the manufacturer's procedure.
Now train it
Say it out loud, hear it asked, and take the quick check in this lesson’s practice pack. It tracks your shaky spots.
Got it?
When it feels solid, practice emergency equipment and survival gear out loud with our examiner.
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Sources
- 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
Study aid, not FAA guidance. Regulations change; check the current text at eCFR and the ACS. Checked against current sources 2026-11-13.