Engine Failures CAN happen! Watch a student pilot and flight instructor practice inflight power loss

[@Phantomwray]

This is gold! Very nice lesson. While training for the multi-engine rating I had an actual engine failure during the take-off roll. We were mid-way through the take-off run and the aircraft started pulling hard to the left all of a sudden. I called abort and pulled the power back and we taxied back. It was a good lesson that, yes, engine failures can happen to me! Luckily we didn't have to deal with it after take-off.

[@Dan007UT]

One perk to living/flying in Utah...lots of places to land.. can train emergency procedures down to 20ft agl above the salt flats :)

[@buckbuchanan5849]

Never forget on my PPL checkride. Examiner pulled power, said "where ya gonna go?" I said, over there to the right, a field. He said, "How about the grass runway......below us?!" LOL

[@ldmax]

I had an instructor pull that one on me. I knew of the little grass airport, but didn't realize we were right over it. After the CFI pointed it out, I was able to put the plane down on it.

[@Twarrior913]

Big props to Jeremy in being willing to show his learning process. Not easy and takes guts.

[@robertrasband8235]

OUTSTANDING VIDEO! So personal. Felt like I was actually in the plane with the two of you on the training flight! Thank you, gentlemen.

[@TheFinerPoints]

Awesome! Thank you!

[@freedom4u18]

Just did this with my CFI.. I was always scared of forward slips but got comfortable doing them. Great refresher love the videos.

[@TheFinerPoints]

Thx!

[@johnopalko5223]

Get some time in a glider. Forward slips on the approach are standard procedure.

[@freedom4u18]

@@johnopalko5223 LOL let me get my PPL first

[@AV8R_1]

I do very aggressive slips all the time, because I fly a super cub sometimes my approaches need to be very short and very steep, but also slow. They can be a lot of fun, especially when you fly your slip all the way into your round out. Takes a little practice but you’ll have fun with it once you do it more often!

[@CFITOMAHAWK2]

@@AV8R_1 And they make you look like the ace of the base when you do those forward slips to 10 feet.

[@kbentch]

What a great video! My son and I are taking lessons together. It’s a wonderful father-son moment. I like your explanations and great memory hooks. Keep up the good work! Thank you.

[@BrianSchiff]

Another tip on opening the doors - on a Cessna, latch the door handle with it open - that will prevent it from re-latching closed. Kinda like some teach to wedge your shoe (or something else) between the door and the frame to keep it from re-latching closed. Great video!

[@juniorribeiro3135]

You know that the safety comes first when you're recording a video about safety wearing seat belt in a parked car! Great video TKS

[@captmulch1]

I've also learnt the technique of approach to an almost overshoot point, then (172) put out full flap, point the nose at the ground (airspeed up to Vfe) - the barn door flaps of a 172 and the extra drag at an airspeed higher than best glide speed guarantees that you're going to make the field without an undershoot. It's a bit radical, but it works!!

[@cyberayubi]

During my primary flight training I had to demonstrate a forward slip to get down to the touchdown point on a forced landing every time... it’s a wonderful tool to have in your toolkit and something that initially is very unnatural and involves cross controlling the aircraft. Once you get it down it’s awesome! I try to practice a forward slip to landing as often as possible

[@ronsflightsimlab9512]

Man... It's SO smart flying with a variety of CFIs and pilots. I learn something every time I fly with something new. A CFI relationship is not a blood oath! I've got CFIs that I turn to for various purposes. Great vid man!

[@Mike_Costello]

I remember doing all this. I also remember the sweat on my back.

[@paulbrunner1818]

Yes, I remember this too. But , it was real, and was able to do a successful landing in a field. That was 30 years ago, and I still practice like before.

[@photon1972]

Thanks to Jeremy for allowing you to share.

[@stoldrag85]

Holding cruise pitch will give you best glide without eyes inside. More time for determining your landing area suitability. Practicing to touchdown on a dry lakebed is priceless. For those of us out west, we have this option. Doing actual power off is a nice reality check and a huge confidence builder.

[@CapFreddy]

Nice video as always.. I flew from taildraggers to light twin up to the 727. Just got my glider pilot license in january. I think it was one of the best things I could do, it´s not only fun, but it helps a lot with coordinated flight and gliding distance calculations. Ok, in a glider is much easier cause you can vary your ramp a lot with spoilers, its almost impossible to miss an aiming point.. but it´s a flying that you are always thinking about gliding distance, for bovious reasons...

[@TheFinerPoints]

Flying a 727 was always my childhood dream! - agreed on the gliders - a great experience

[@SVSky]

Weak link and rope breaks are good examples of engine failures and what you need to do afterwards

[@billbrisson]

Doing a simulated engine failure with a "City boy" instructor over the bush in NW Ontario in a check ride in their 172, I chose a logging road in a cutover area, and I was actually thinking I could land and take off from there with no trouble at all, it was then that I asked how low he wanted to go? he told me "as low as I was comfortable with"..... When I got to 40-50' I think I exceeded his comfort level, because he realized I was going to land... go around!

[@davidclark8774]

I will say that this makes a lot more sense having done this a couple of times myself. These videos are awesome to prepare for what's next in flight training.

[@WolfPilot]

Great video Jason! I think you should practice engine out drills once a month with a safety pilot. I am all about breaking the chain and being prepared for all emergencies.

[@sams6928]

Great Video! This is a skill set that gets lost after time and should be practiced more often. Thanks!

[@craigsanders6925]

I enjoyed this in my training. Always treated it as a challenge to put it down where I wanted it.

[@budt3973]

As a new pilot, I just want to thank you for what you do. Your videos often keep my mind in the game and thus a better pilot.

[@thebluebaron1563]

Shit...I think I have to start my own channel to correct what this guy does wrong :)

[@pjc4372]

Love these lessons for arm chair flying. Thank you.

[@TheFinerPoints]

You're so welcome!

[@IanHorsford]

I remember doing those procedures, now am a commercial pilot it feels much easier and relaxed to run those flows.

[@jodysin7]

You guys should carry binoculars or monoculars for spotting obsticals when choosing a landing site.

[@carlosgarcia3341]

Great lesson, Jason.

[@TheFinerPoints]

Thanks Carlos!

[@johnrumpf8559]

Great video. Jason “clicking” the Apple Pencil @ 2:11 😂 love it

[@TroyWhistman]

Law of Primacy. LOL

[@patrickheneghan2794]

As always..Pure Quality!👌..Tks.

[@TheFinerPoints]

🙌

[@waqarsyed6641]

Very well said. very well demonstrated. awesome. thank you for sharing

[@realrussclarke]

Great stuff Jason

[@MrMarkguth]

I actually had a partial engine failure a little while ago, couldn’t maintain altitude, it’s very hard to fly past good landing areas then find another one. I made to the intended airport with 500 ft above the cct height, and never backed off till short finals,

[@billbrisson]

On a carbureted engine step one is CARB HEAT! if you have a carb full of ice, you only have a few seconds from the time the engine quits before there is no heat left in the exhaust system to heat the intake air and melt the carb ice! carb heat- then best glide...at least that's what I was taught

[@jscomputerservicesanpcpart5772]

awesome video mate. i did my first lesson on stalls last week and found this video a real benefit to think about whats coming next when i learn about emergency landings. Anytime your in Victoria, Australia near Yarram airport , mate ill shout you a few beers and throw some chops and snags on the Barbie. Cheers \o/

[@RJ1Reed]

I didn’t think you were supposed to side slip with flaps in the 172?

[@bradkeener07]

Had a total failure in a 210 two years ago. It's not fun, but they glide pretty well.

[@gcarter1062]

Went to 500’ AGL doing power off emergency during check ride. You will do it.

[@sqwk2559]

What’s your point?

[@claytonstarwalt9914]

Great Lesson.

[@alasdaircrawford2695]

You seemed to be near landable fields so why initially pitching for best glide speed? (rather than min-sink). Is that choice typically discussed as an option in training?

[@TenMinuteTrips]

This may not be the correct answer but I would say that by always making pitching for best glide speed part of the exercise, you’ll be better prepared in the event of an actual emergency. Also, best glide will buy you time; especially when you’re not immediately near ideal landing spots. And most importantly, I would think that best glide would allow time to first, calm down. Then go through the rest of the emergency procedures. Remember what Jason said. Don’t give anything away. Altitude is your friend.

[@alasdaircrawford2695]

@@TenMinuteTrips min sink speed will give you most time aloft for given altitude whereas best L/D will allow you to cover most distance for given altitude. If need to get to landable terrain agree entirely with choose best glide, if already over landable terrain why not choose Min-sink and more time to figure things out? Just curious why this is seldom taught/discussed as an option (other than in gliders).

[@MikeCnolan]

1) Under stressful circumstances, Keep It Simple. You'll spend more time overthinking the speed than you will gain. 2) Min sink isn't tabulated in a typical powered trainer, and 3) is closer to stall, already a concern for a ground-shy student under stress. Best glide is pretty close to a normal final approach speed, so students are pretty comfortable with it and used to how fast things are moving.

[@AV8R_1]

Jason, question: I’ve been a pilot for roughly 15 years, I have a private pilot fixed wing and commercial instrument helicopter and these days really only fly as a sport pilot. I don’t use flight following anymore, because my flights are recreational, and rarely have a straight line route to a specific destination. Because I now spend my flights mostly meandering around aimlessly enjoying the scenery and the activity of flying itself, my type of flying is not well received by enroute controllers, and for this reason I usually only have my radio tuned to the nearest airfield. This definitely does not put me at an advantage if I had to declare an emergency. Would you recommend always having the local approach controller on standby? Or do you have any other recommendation for being a little more prepared in the event I had to declare an emergency? Believe me I’ve tried using flight following, and they become very clearly annoyed at constant heading and altitude changes.

[@TheSocialGamingSG]

I would personally always try to have a safety net. Flight following is a nice thing to have, but because of the nature of your flying, it does not always make the most sense. Something as simple as having a controlled frequency on the standby could never hurt. While in glide, after the initial checks and procedures, there is a decent amount of time just flying the plane down. During that time you could easily swap to the frequency, and mayday. They could have you squawk as usual and be able to have a last known location (god forbid). I don't know. Me personally, I always try to have cards stacked in my favor, as 1 net is not always enough. Just remember, "No plan survives first contact". Best of luck, and hope my answer suffices and gives at least ONE other persons perspective to another!

[@alk672]

You don't have to get radar services in order to tune in the frequency. Have it tuned in and listen in for extra situational awareness. If it hits the fan, just key in the mic and declare your emergency. Even if they get caught off guard and don't understand who you are and why you're talking all of a sudden, they will see your 7700 flashing on their radar. Problem solved.

[@JS-wz3km]

Facilities and most part 121 carriers monitor 121.5. Keep it in your standby radio, know your position, report your tail number. In the modern ADSB world, ATC will know your precise location from your ADSB and you help them hone in on the specific aircraft with your tail number (as well as looking back at ADSB recording if you go missing), also, squawking 7700 and reporting your position will get the controllers attention. Then, state intentions slowly and clearly so others can hear and pass on the report, and repeat a few times. If you aren't equipped yet with ADSB, this is a strong reason to get one.

[@cowboy7x]

If I EVER work on getting my license, I'll freaking move to your location to have you as my trainer.

[@maenischmed6811]

Love your videos Keep them coming They helped me a lot to master it at least get closer to master my skills

[@sqwk2559]

Make a donation then.

[@TheFinerPoints]

Thanks, will do!

[@fishhisy]

Lost my engine power 100 feet AGL immediately after taking off from the runway landing straight ahead would put me in the houses off the departure end. A left turn onto a highway overpass was my best option, ended up rear ending a car.

[@sqwk2559]

Rear ending a car is a bad mistake on your behalf. You should reevaluate what your best option was. If your unlikely story is true you could have killed others. Best option my @33. That prop is a murder device.

[@Dan007UT]

@@sqwk2559 It seems his other option was houses. Which would you choose?

[@sqwk2559]

@@Dan007UT hit the dirt before both. He’s lying anyway. 100 AGL has the runway all to play for. Fake story. And if he had only 100 AGL at the departure-end he’s and even bigger idiot.

[@ducky8075]

@@sqwk2559 he didn’t have much of a choice. His other option was ramming into a house. You’re trained that a freeway is actually pretty much one of the best places to land for this reason - if you land with traffic, you aren’t going much faster than everyone else. The prop isn’t going to shear straight through and kill everyone in the car.

[@ibgarrett]

Speaking from direct experience, there is no amount of practice you can get that prepares you for the actual event. There is this weird lag your (at least my) brain goes through of "wtf" and then you just start into the things you have to do. I fortunately had a few thousand feet to work with and actually had some time to contemplate the moment once everything was setup and I was coming in to land... I can't imagine how much more compressed things would get if you were less than a thousand feet. Practice, practice, practice.

[@LJL0619]

This is great information, I need to hear what you say. Please don't add background music!

[@josephsener420]

Excellent lesson!

[@TheFinerPoints]

Thanks! 😃

[@jimsavino4729]

Nice job, Jason! Do you ever bring up stopping the windmilling prop to get extra distance/endurance? If not, why not? best, jim s

[@ronbo422]

Boy, at 8:20 you can really see the pitch-up effect on full power that has caught inexperienced pilots by surprise upon a go-around/aborted landing. I learned early on to push on throttle AND yoke with almost the same force to build airspeed..... in a "deer on the runway" scenario.

[@MLBfreek35]

"There's been some trigonometry done" - I intuitively can't believe it could be harmful to gain altitude, but could definitely be convinced (I know next to nothing about aviation) - can we see the math?

[@Phantomwray]

Without going through with a numerical analysis, to me it would seem that by pitching up and climbing to trade airspeed for altitude, you lose some energy due to accelerating upward to overcome vertical inertia and gravity. Whereas if you hold level to wait for the glide speed, you don't have that additional energy loss. I'm not an expert on this, that's just what makes sense to me.

[@Rodhern]

Years ago I remember reading on a forum. A guy that owned a Cessna 177 had been wondering the same thing and decided to flight test it. Pulling the power to idle at a certain point, altitude and airspeed and compare the two options. He did it several times. As far as I recall his conclusions were: (I) An initial climb was better than level flight deceleration, (II) ... but only by a little bit, (III) ... and he had to do it immediately to get a noticeable effect - which might not be realistic in a real world engine failure scenario. My guess is that theoretically a climb is better, but in practice your 'flying effort' is better used on other aspects that will make more of a difference. Maybe if the airplane is 'fast enough' (like warbirds) a climb is worthwhile?

[@emperorofthegreatunknown4394]

@@Rodhern It probably depends on your initial speed when you lose your engine.

[@GaryMCurran]

So, Jason, this is a few months after you've published it, I'm finally getting around to seeing it. Understand, I haven't flown since the early 1980s, and I'm just a PPL. I primarily flew 150 and Piper PA-28s. At the beginning of this video you stated that you shouldn't zoom climb before establishing your best glide rate. If I"m at 3,500 cruising at 120 knots, and my best glide speed is 68 knots, why shouldn't I trade 50 knots for altitude? If I can keep the speed above the best glide speed and pick up 1,000' of altitude, why shouldn't I do that? You said trigonometry indicates that you're not gaining anything, but I'm sorry, altitude equals time and distance in my book, the higher I am, the longer distance I can glide and the more time I have to figure stuff out. Can you explain to me WHY you shouldn't trade speed for altitude, to begin with? Yes, I can understand slowing the airplane to best Glide speed can be done by trimming the aircraft, but if you trim it from a cruise speed, you'll gain altitude anyway. At least I would imagine you would. I would love to see a video on this, even if I never will act as PIC again.

[@djbred18]

How do you personally know where the wind is coming from?

[@DearKuyaJ9811]

Love these lessons.

[@nealhere]

Once again great training video. Question ...On go around did you go from full flaps to flaps ten? Seems like a risk of lost lift close to the ground.

[@EarthAmbassador]

Protip, full nose up trim in a 152 gets you Vg. Idk about the 172.

[@TheFinerPoints]

Thanks Luke -- I also like to tell people that "pitch level" is pretty much best glide in most light airplanes just to give them something to quickly get in the ballpark.

[@GZA036]

I do the same thing for a 172

[@sccoberly]

This is great, Jason! Ballpark, how much altitude can I expect to lose in a gliding 360?

[@reubenmorison8149]

Depends on AOB

[@jonscot8393]

I've had to land numerous times without an engine. Come to think of it, I don't think my Twin Astir has a motor.

[@joeglennaz]

I would be curious to know how many hours he had of training at that point

[@captmulch1]

Go around - full power - carb heat off!!!

[@brooks-e8249]

All things being equal, i would much rather have some extra air speed to bleed off instead of approaching minimum speed and all the catastrophic consequences of falling out of the sky. You can land fast, and use runway, you can smoke the breaks, you can max flaps as long as possible, break as long as possible, and use end or sides as you run out of asphalt, to kill the plane, and not kill you. There are just so many favorable options with excess airspeed , but once you have burned off energy, you are "F"ed, and even when you have altitude you are able to trade, its like they say, it is unnatural to push the yoke towards the Earth to get some air flowing under the wings, and depending on how much elevation you still have, you might not have enough to get controlled flight back. . Keep adequate elevation and pay attention to airspeed, max glide without risking too much,, keep that air speed in the safe zone. Ask any commercial pilot what they would rather deal with,, too much air speed or not enough. with the exception of speed that is going to compromise the airframe, 10 out of 10 will vote for too much airspeed over not enough every time. (This is just my opinion and I am sure i am going to get lectured by the F.I. community,,, lol, don't come at me too hard. !!

[@hofadry1073]

So are you saying that if the engine fails that you should maintain altitude until you reach your l/d max ?

[@TheFinerPoints]

Yes

[@hofadry1073]

That’s interesting. I always just assumed that I should just climb in that circumstance.

[@thevmichannel]

I was most worried you would both get C-19. Good thing you were wearing your masks!

[@thebluebaron1563]

LOL you serious?

[@thevmichannel]

@@thebluebaron1563 I am usually only serious when I'm flying. So no I was not serious...LOL

[@thebluebaron1563]

@@thevmichannel you're in good company then 😊

[@rrthomas86]

Are you taking new students? Where do you fly out of? I'm in Santa Cruz, CA

[@rod-no-tube]

My biggest fear! Just watching this helps to reduce it (except for the stall horn). Thanks.

[@TroyWhistman]

Don't let the stall horn scare you! If you hear it, just relax back pressure *just a little bit* and it will stop. There's actually quite a large buffer between first hearing the stall horn and actual stall. You'll see the backcountry pilots landing with the stall horn constantly chirping all the way down final--that's IDEAL for minimum speed and ground roll!

[@jamesjobe4307]

How many real life failures have you had in your career? Thanks for the great content!!!

[@garrygballard8914]

Where to you teach from ???

[@HiddenWindshield]

Have you ever, or known anyone who has, had an actual engine out when down at 1000 feet practicing engine outs?

[@JS-wz3km]

An instructor I worked with had this happen. They were doing a practice emergency to a private airport that wasn't in use, 1 to 2 ft tall grass. During the descent, the throttle cable in a 172 broke. The engine was stuck at idle. The CFI was able to identify this when he moved the throttle to clear the engine around 1200 ft agl and the engine remained at idle. He had the student continue to a successful landing, no damage no injuries.

[@deborahpell3869]

Why not just do full flaps 45d straight down into the water. Did my CFI lie to me or am i just jk with you guy's lol

[@thebluebaron1563]

WRONG! its the ABCDE's Airspeed Best field Checklist > 1500" AGL Declare Evacuate (secure engine)

[@BrianSchiff]

Monkey - vine-to-vine. I love it!

[@stephenmccreery6511]

If yer engine quits 4 real there was a reason trying 2 restart is wasting time jist find a safe area land the thing then deal with it also instead of slowing 2 yer glide speed by pullin back let it fly it will slow 2 the glide speed on its own unless u do something stupid

[@carlosgarcia3341]

If want to keep your "face mask" from falling you can put a piece of wire inside it shaping it to the top of your nose. That should work.

[@jginmt]

Sorry, I can't watch this with masks on inside the plane.