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Commercial pilot · ACS CA.IX.D · lesson pack

Emergency Equipment and Survival Gear

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.

1 · Know these cold

  • •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)

2 · The lesson

ELT and fire extinguisher
  • 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
  • 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
  • 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)

Want it all on one page, with scenarios? Read the full lesson.

3 · Say it out loud

Answer each one out loud, then check yourself and mark how it went.

  1. Remember Recall it

    “When may you test an ELT?”

  2. Understand Explain why

    “Why is a 406 MHz ELT better than 121.5?”

  3. Apply Use it on a flight

    “You're flying passengers across a mountain range in winter. What do you carry and brief?”

4 · 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.

5 · Quick check

Answer, then reveal. Flag anything you want to see again.

  1. 1. When must ELT batteries be replaced?

  2. 2. How often must an ELT be inspected?

  3. 3. For how long should survival gear sustain you?

  4. 4. Who can activate an emergency autoland?

  5. Scenario5. An engine failure over unlandable terrain in a parachute-equipped airplane. What do you do?

Trained it? Now prove it: practice emergency equipment and survival gear out loud with our examiner.

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Connect it

One situation that runs across this lesson and its neighbors in the same ACS area. Decide first, then check.

Connect it · Emergency Operations

Over forest, you smell burning insulation and see smoke from behind the panel.

How do the malfunction, the descent and the landing tie together? Decide, then see the worked answer

Treat it as an electrical fire and follow your airplane's POH, which governs; the general pattern is this. Isolate the affected circuit first if you can identify it. If you can't, master switch OFF, alternator or generator OFF, and all other electrical switches OFF except the ignition. Never reset a circuit breaker that tripped. While the fire is active, close the vents, cabin air and heat, and use the fire extinguisher if you have one; ventilate only after you've confirmed the fire is out. With the master off, the engine keeps running on its magnetos, but you lose the radios and transponder, and often electric flaps and gear. So declare the emergency before the master goes off if you can, plan on the emergency gear extension, and be ready for a no-flap approach. Fire in flight is time critical: start an emergency descent and land as soon as possible at the best suitable site you can reach. Pick it early and judge it: over forest, an open field, or a road only if it's clear of wires and traffic and long enough. After landing, the ELT and survival gear matter, so know where they are.

AFH (FAA-H-8083-3C), Emergency Procedures; PHAK (FAA-H-8083-25C), Aircraft Systems

Brings together: Emergency Descent · Emergency Approach and Landing (Simulated) · Systems and Equipment Malfunctions · Emergency Equipment and Survival Gear

Teaching this? The instructor lesson plan →

Study aid, not FAA guidance. Sources: Airplane Flying Handbook (FAA-H-8083-3C); Pilot's Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge (FAA-H-8083-25C); Aeronautical Information Manual (AIM); 14 CFR Part 91; Commercial Pilot ACS (FAA-S-ACS-7B); Your airplane's POH/AFM. Checked against current sources 2026-11-13.