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Private pilot · ACS PA.IX.B · lesson pack

Emergency Approach and Landing (Simulated)

Why this one matters

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.

1 · Know these cold

  • •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)

2 · The lesson

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))

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

On the flight

ACS standards

  • Establish and maintain the recommended best glide airspeed ±10 knots.(Private Pilot ACS (FAA-S-ACS-6C), PA.IX.B.S1)
  • Select a suitable landing area and plan and follow a flightpath to it, considering altitude, wind, terrain and obstructions.(Private Pilot ACS (FAA-S-ACS-6C), PA.IX.B.S3-S4)

What your instructor is watching for

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.

3 · Say it out loud

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

  1. Remember Recall it

    “What is the difference between best glide and minimum sink speed?”

  2. Understand Explain why

    “Why choose a field into the wind?”

  3. Apply Use it on a flight

    “Your engine quits at 3,000 feet AGL. Talk me through it.”

4 · Common mistakes

  • Slow to set best glide.

    Every second at the wrong speed costs distance.

    Instead: Pitch for best glide first, before anything else.

  • Too much time troubleshooting.

    You run out of altitude to plan the landing.

    Instead: Field first, then the checklist if there’s time.

  • Flaps too early.

    You fall short of the field.

    Instead: Extend flaps when the field is assured.

5 · Quick check

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

  1. 1. What are the checkride tolerances for best glide?

  2. 2. What does minimum sink speed give you?

  3. 3. How does a tailwind affect glide distance?

  4. 4. Which ELTs are detected by satellites?

  5. 5. In a plowed field, which way do you land?

  6. Scenario6. Engine failure at 800 feet AGL after takeoff. What do you do?

Trained it? Now prove it: practice emergency approach and landing (simulated) 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

At 4,500 feet AGL over rough country, oil pressure is dropping and oil temperature rising. The engine still runs.

How do the malfunction, the landing decision and your survival gear connect? Decide, then see the worked answer

Know the split. Low oil pressure alone, with normal temperature, can be a gauge problem: watch the temperature and land at the nearest airport to have it checked. Falling pressure with rising temperature means the engine may be losing its oil and could fail soon: land as soon as possible, while you still have power and height. Reduce power to the minimum you need to reach your chosen spot, to ease the load on the engine. Pick the nearest suitable airport or the best field within glide, and prepare for a power-off landing. Aviate and navigate first, then run the POH checklist and communicate: squawk 7700 and declare the emergency on the frequency you're using, with your position; use 121.5 only if you aren't talking to anyone. If the engine fails, fly best glide to the field you already picked. Know where the survival gear is and that the ELT is armed, because rough country means help can take time.

AFH (FAA-H-8083-3C), Emergency Procedures; PHAK (FAA-H-8083-25C), Aircraft Systems; AIM 6-3-1

Brings together: 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; Private Pilot ACS (FAA-S-ACS-6C); Your airplane's POH/AFM. Checked against current sources 2026-11-12.