How do you handle engine failure in a single-engine aircraft?

In a single-engine aircraft, an engine failure demands five priorities: maintain control, pitch and trim for the published glide speed, choose a reachable landing site, attempt the approved restart only if time permits, then declare the emergency and fly the forced-landing approach. The exact POH or AFM procedure overrides every generic checklist.

For our Aviation & Real-World Flying readers, the distinction between a real emergency and simulator rehearsal matters. In an actual aircraft, use the Pilot’s Operating Handbook (POH), Aircraft Flight Manual (AFM), trained memory items and local emergency procedures for that exact model. Speeds, fuel systems, propeller controls and relight limits vary considerably.

What should you do first after the engine fails?

Fly the aircraft first: lower the nose as necessary, establish the applicable emergency glide speed and select somewhere to land before troubleshooting.

1. Control the aeroplane. Prevent the airspeed decaying, especially after take-off when the aircraft may already be nose-high and close to the stall. Use the phase-specific emergency speed in the POH; it is not always identical to the normal cruise best-glide figure.
2. Pitch and trim. Establish the published best-glide speed unless the checklist specifies another speed. Best glide maximises still-air distance, whereas minimum-sink speed maximises time aloft. Our explanation of Cessna 172 best-glide speeds and wind corrections shows why one memorised number cannot cover every variant and loading.
3. Choose a landing site. Select a runway or surface comfortably inside the glide footprint, allowing height for turns and the final approach. Keep it in sight and avoid changing your choice repeatedly.
4. Attempt the approved restart. Complete memory items and then confirm them against the written checklist when workload permits. Abandon troubleshooting if it starts consuming the height needed for a controlled approach.
5. Declare the emergency. Transmit MAYDAY on the working frequency, or on 121.5 MHz if useful contact cannot be established. Give the call sign, aircraft type, nature of the emergency, position, altitude, intentions and number of people aboard.
6. Prepare and land. Fly a recognisable approach, add flap or landing gear only when the landing point is assured, and secure fuel, ignition and electrical systems when the aircraft checklist directs.

A windmilling propeller does not prove that the engine is producing power. Nor should a pilot deliberately slow below the published glide speed merely to stop the propeller; any possible drag reduction must be weighed against the immediate stall risk and the aircraft-specific procedure.

If an engine fails after take-off, what should you do?

After take-off, lower the nose immediately and land within the safest controllable sector unless an aircraft-specific, pre-briefed turnback is clearly achievable from the available height.

The after-take-off emergency speed may differ from the aircraft’s published best-glide speed in normal flight. This is one reason a generic engine-out procedure must never replace the correct checklist.

When is an air turnback to the runway safe?

An air turnback is an option only when it has been planned, practised at a safe altitude and supported by enough height, runway and performance margin for the actual conditions.

The manoeuvre requires more than a 180-degree turn because the aircraft must return to the runway centreline and align for landing. Reaction time, bank angle, load factor, wind, runway offset and final alignment all consume altitude. A take-off into wind also creates a higher downwind groundspeed after turning back.

There is no universal turnback altitude for a Cessna 172 or any other single-engine aircraft. A valid decision height depends on the model, weight, density altitude, runway length, wind, terrain and pilot proficiency. It should be established with a qualified instructor and include a margin for the startle and delay of a real failure. A height copied from another pilot or simulator video is not a safe planning figure.

The pre-take-off brief should identify the response for a failure on the runway, after lift-off below the turnback decision height and above it. A long runway may leave enough pavement ahead; that option should not be overlooked simply because the aircraft has become airborne.

How do you practise an engine failure while receiving an ATC service?

Tell ATC before beginning a simulated engine failure, obtain any required clearance or acknowledgement, and retain the assigned frequency and transponder code.

State that you intend to conduct a practice forced landing or simulated engine failure, along with the operating area, altitude band and intended recovery or termination point. ATC may delay or refuse the manoeuvre because of traffic, controlled-airspace restrictions or terrain. An ATC service does not transfer responsibility for aircraft control, terrain clearance, lookout or compliance with the POH.

Do not transmit MAYDAY or select 7700 for an ordinary training exercise. Keep the assigned squawk unless ATC instructs otherwise, report when the exercise is complete if requested, and do not switch off a serviceable engine merely to make the exercise more realistic. Real-aircraft practice should be supervised by a qualified instructor using the approved method for simulating power loss.

If the engine genuinely fails during the exercise, remove the ambiguity immediately: transmit MAYDAY, actual engine failure, state your intentions and apply the real emergency procedure.

How should you set the transponder after an actual engine failure in flight?

Select emergency code 7700 if you are not already identified on an assigned discrete code; when already in two-way contact with ATC, retain the assigned code unless ATC or the applicable local procedure directs otherwise.

Setting the transponder never takes priority over maintaining airspeed and positioning for the landing. It also does not replace the voice distress call when a call can be made safely.

What is the Cessna 172 engine failure checklist?

There is no single Cessna 172 engine failure checklist covering every model; use the emergency section for the exact variant and phase of flight.

For example, a commonly operated fuel-injected C172S checklist begins an in-flight engine-failure procedure at 68 KIAS, followed by checks including fuel shutoff valve on, selector on both, auxiliary fuel pump on, mixture rich and ignition on both or start if the propeller has stopped. The same aircraft’s immediately-after-take-off procedure can specify different speeds.

Older carburetted C172 variants may publish another glide speed and call for carburettor heat, primer and fuel-selector checks instead of the fuel-injected model’s auxiliary-pump flow. Combining those procedures produces a checklist that correctly matches no aircraft.

If the engine does not restart, the C172 forced-landing checklist normally addresses the following items, but their order and timing remain model-specific:

• Published airspeed and selection of the landing area.
• Seat belts, cabin preparation and passenger briefing.
• Mixture at idle cut-off and fuel supply secured.
• Ignition switched off when directed.
• Flaps selected as required once the landing is assured.
• Master switch turned off at the specified point.
• Doors unlatched before touchdown if the POH calls for it.

Turning off the master too early can remove electrically operated flaps, radios, lights or other equipment still needed. Treat any abbreviated C172 checklist as a memory aid to be verified against the POH, not as authority to substitute numbers from another model.

Should you try to restart the engine?

Attempt a restart only after the aircraft is under control and a reachable landing site has been selected, and only while enough height and attention remain.

A mistake we see constantly in simulator practice is treating the restart flow as the first task. Even when the fault is simple, looking inside while the airspeed decays can turn an engine failure into a loss-of-control accident.

Turboprops use different starter, relight, condition-lever and propeller procedures. Never transfer a piston-aircraft flow to a turboprop.

What if the engine still produces partial power?

Treat partial or intermittent power as temporary and keep a suitable landing site continuously within reach.

Use only a power setting at which the engine runs smoothly, follow the abnormal checklist and avoid depending on the engine to reach a distant runway. If normal power returns, land at the nearest suitable airfield rather than assuming that the fault has cleared permanently.

How should you choose and fly the forced-landing site?

Choose the reachable site offering the clearest approach, adequate length and the lowest overall touchdown risk, then commit early enough to fly a stable pattern.

• Prefer a runway when it is comfortably within range, but never stretch the glide to reach one.
• Assess wind and slope. Landing into wind and uphill usually lowers groundspeed, although obstacles and surface condition may outweigh those benefits.
• Inspect the approach. Roads can hide power lines, traffic, signs and central barriers. Fields may contain fences, ditches, irrigation equipment, crops or soft ground.
• Preserve manoeuvring height. A closer site with a straightforward approach is often safer than a better-looking site reached with no margin.
• Delay drag. Extend flaps and, where applicable, landing gear only when the selected touchdown area is assured.

Never raise the nose below the required glide speed to stretch the approach. That steepens the descent path and reduces the stall margin rather than creating extra range.

Gear position on rough ground, soft surfaces or water is aircraft- and procedure-specific; there is no universal gear-up rule. Touch down at the lowest practical speed while retaining positive control, then evacuate promptly if there is fire, smoke or substantial fuel leakage.

What if the engine fails in IMC or at the IAF?

In instrument meteorological conditions, maintain instrument attitude and the published glide speed, declare the emergency and ask ATC for immediate assistance towards the safest reachable option.

An IAF is an initial approach fix. Reaching one does not guarantee that the runway remains within gliding distance, and the published instrument procedure may not provide the safest engine-out track. Advise ATC of the loss of power, altitude and glide limitations; accept vectors only when they do not compromise aircraft control or a better landing option.

If cloud prevents visual site selection, prioritise stable instrument flight while preparing for the earliest safe visual transition. Terrain warnings, moving maps and ATC information can support the decision, but none proves that a runway or field is within the aircraft’s actual glide capability.

Does this procedure apply to an A320 engine failure?

No: an A320 is a twin-engine transport-category jet, so the loss of one engine is handled with aircraft-specific flight-path, ECAM, relight or shutdown, performance and landing procedures rather than a Cessna-style forced-landing checklist.

An A320 engine failure checklist from a specific simulation or operator must not be replaced by the generic single-engine procedure on this page. With one engine operating, the aircraft may be able to continue, divert and land under one-engine-inoperative procedures. Dual-engine failure, fire or major damage creates a different emergency. The underlying control priorities are explained further in our guide to flying and landing a twin-engine aircraft on one engine.

How should pilots practise engine-out procedures safely?

Real-aircraft engine-failure practice should be conducted with a qualified instructor, the correct POH, adequate height and a pre-briefed recovery limit.

Training should cover failures during the take-off roll, immediately after take-off, in the cruise and on approach. It should also include landing-site selection, radio calls, checklist confirmation, partial power and the decision not to attempt an unsafe turnback.

A desktop simulator is useful for rehearsing the scan, radio call and decision sequence without risking an aircraft. Its glide ratio, propeller drag, terrain, weather and restart modelling may not reproduce the real machine accurately, so use our structured simulator engine-failure exercises as procedural practice rather than proof that a real turnback or landing site is achievable.