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AviationOne engine inoperative by instruments, in straight-and-level flight and turns (simulated)
Solely by reference to the instruments, the examiner simulates an engine failure in a twin: you keep control, secure it in simulation, fly the best engine-out speed and decide how to get to a safe landing. It is Task C of Area X, Multiengine Operations, in the FAA Private Pilot Airman Certification Standards, for the airplane classes listed below.
Free to startScenarios
- Airplane multiengine land (AMEL).
- Airplane multiengine sea (AMES).
The steps
- Recognize the engine failure promptly and keep positive control.
- Set the engine controls, reduce drag, identify and verify the inoperative engine and simulate feathering its propeller (the examiner then sets zero thrust on it).
- Use the flight controls in the combination the manufacturer recommends, or as needed for best performance, and trim as needed.
- Set the best engine-inoperative airspeed and trim the airplane.
- Verify the checklist procedure used to secure the inoperative engine.
- Try to find and fix the reason for the engine failure.
- Monitor the engine functions and adjust as needed.
- Hold the specified altitude within 100 feet, or the minimum sink rate if applicable, airspeed within 10 knots and the specified heading within 10 degrees.
- Assess the airplane's performance and decide the right action for a safe landing.
- Avoid losing control or flying against the airplane's engine-inoperative limitations.
- Use single-pilot resource management, or crew resource management, as appropriate.
Safety rules that stop the station
- Required only for an applicant with an instrument airplane rating who has not yet shown instrument proficiency in a multiengine airplane; without it, the certificate carries a VFR-only limitation for multiengine flight.
- Below 3,000 feet above the ground, the engine failure is simulated with the throttle at idle and then zero thrust.
- Any action, or lack of action, that makes the examiner step in to keep the flight safe is unsatisfactory.
- Consistently exceeding the tolerances of the task, or not correcting promptly when you exceed them, is unsatisfactory.
To pass
- Control kept on instruments, the dead engine secured in simulation, altitude within 100 feet or minimum sink, airspeed within 10 knots, heading within 10 degrees and a safe plan to land.
- Know the procedures for an engine failure in straight-and-level flight and turns on instruments, and the risks of identifying the inoperative engine, not being able to climb or hold altitude, low-altitude stalls and spins, distractions and fuel management on one engine.
- Missing the standard on this task fails the task and its area of operation.
Official source
Federal · FAA Private Pilot ACS
Private Pilot for Airplane Category Airman Certification Standards (FAA-S-ACS-6C)
The FAA publishes the Private Pilot Airman Certification Standards free: every task of the checkride with its knowledge, risks and tolerances.
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