Handle an engine fire in Microsoft Flight Simulator: identify the engine, cut fuel, use the extinguisher correctly and make a safe landing.
To handle an engine fire in Microsoft Flight Simulator, keep control, confirm the affected engine, shut off its fuel, close its throttle and use the fire extinguisher if fitted. Secure the remaining engine systems according to the aircraft checklist, then descend and land as soon as possible.
That is the general flow, not a universal switch sequence. Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020 and 2024 aircraft vary widely in systems depth, so the cockpit checklist for the aircraft you are flying takes precedence.
What should I do first when an engine fire starts?
Fly the aircraft before touching the fire controls.
- Maintain control. If you are still on the runway and a safe stop is available, reject the take-off. Otherwise hold a safe speed, trim the aircraft and account for asymmetric thrust; transport aircraft should follow their published stop-or-go criteria.
- Confirm the affected engine. Check the labelled fire warning and engine instruments, then cross-check the control before moving it. Cutting off the healthy engine is one of the most damaging mistakes in a multi-engine emergency.
- Remove the fuel source. A piston aircraft may require mixture to idle cut-off, fuel selector off and electric fuel pump off. A turbine may use a condition lever, engine master, fuel control or firewall shut-off. Follow the checklist order rather than moving every fuel control at once.
- Isolate and extinguish. Operate the fire handle or switch if fitted, then discharge the first extinguisher bottle. The handle may also isolate bleed air, electrics, hydraulics or other engine services. Wait for the checklist's prescribed interval before using a second bottle.
- Configure for engine-out flight. Feather the affected propeller when the aircraft procedure requires it and maintain the specified one-engine-inoperative speed. Feathering reduces drag; it does not extinguish the fire.
- Land as soon as possible. An active fire calls for the nearest survivable landing area, not a long diversion to a preferred airport. Even if the warning clears, keep the engine shut down and land without unnecessary delay.
Once the engine is secured, the emergency becomes an engine-out approach. Our guidance on maintaining control and landing after an engine failure covers that next phase in more detail.
Which controls stop an engine fire?
The correct controls depend on the engine type and the aircraft's simulated systems.
| Aircraft type | Typical controls to check | Main trap |
|---|---|---|
| Single-engine piston | Mixture idle cut-off, fuel selector off, fuel pump off; throttle, ignition and master as directed | Most have no airborne extinguisher, so prepare immediately for a forced landing |
| Multi-engine piston | Affected throttle, mixture, fuel shut-off, propeller feather and extinguisher if installed | Verify the engine before cutting fuel or feathering |
| Turboprop | Power and condition controls, firewall fuel shut-off, fire handle and bottle as fitted | The condition lever alone may not isolate every source feeding the fire |
| Jet | Affected thrust lever, engine fire switch or handle, then extinguisher bottle | Do not discharge every bottle immediately; follow the warning indications and checklist timing |
Should I switch off all electrical power?
Do not remove all electrical power by reflex. Some piston checklists call for the master switch to be turned off, while larger aircraft normally isolate only the affected engine's generator and retain power for instruments, radios, landing gear and flaps.
Smoke without an engine fire indication may instead require an electrical or smoke-removal procedure. Treat the warning you actually have rather than assuming every smoky cockpit is an engine fire.
What changes if the fire starts on the ground?
Do not take off with an engine fire warning. Stop the aircraft, prevent further fuel flow and follow the engine-start fire checklist.
Some piston procedures use continued cranking with the mixture at idle cut-off to draw an induction fire back into the engine. Turbine aircraft use different motoring or shutdown procedures, so do not transfer that technique between aircraft types. Microsoft Flight Simulator has no meaningful evacuation sequence; once stopped, shut down and end the scenario.
What if the engine fire warning stays on?
Assume the fire is still active until the aircraft checklist is complete and the indications clear.
- Check that the fuel, mixture or condition control reached the intended position. A joystick axis or duplicate binding can move a virtual lever straight back after you operate it in the cockpit.
- Confirm that you isolated the correct engine and that a boost pump or crossfeed configuration is not still supplying it.
- Use a second bottle only when the aircraft has one and its checklist directs you to do so.
- Do not restart the affected engine merely because the flames or warning disappear.
- If the warning and temperatures clear but an external flame effect remains, the aircraft may not link its visual effect fully to the fire-system logic. Continue the emergency and land rather than treating the picture as proof that your procedure failed.
Repairing the aircraft, refuelling it or clearing the configured failure can reset a training scenario, but those actions are not substitutes for handling the emergency.
How realistic are engine fires in Microsoft Flight Simulator?
Engine-fire realism depends heavily on the individual aircraft.
A detailed aircraft may model fire loops, fuel shut-off valves, extinguisher bottles, temperature changes and secondary system losses. A simpler one may provide only a warning, power loss and a visual effect, while some aircraft cannot generate an engine fire through their normal failure options at all. This reflects the wider limits of MSFS fire and damage modelling.
For practice, begin in daylight and good weather, establish a safe altitude, and confirm that every shut-off and extinguisher control is accessible before triggering the fault. Our method for setting up controlled engine-failure drills explains how to rehearse the sequence without turning the exercise into an unrecoverable surprise.