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What happens if you’ve determined your engine isn’t coming back to life, and you’re not within glide range of an airport? You need to pick the next-best landing site. Fortunately, you usually have quite a few options.
Preparing For An Off-Field Landing
When you’re preparing for a power-off landing, there are two primary things you need to consider to make your landing survivable (for this article, we’ll assume the aircraft is not equipped with a BRS). Firstly, you need to utilize the disposable parts of the plane, such as the wings, landing gear, and the bottom of the fuselage, to slow down and preserve the cockpit and cabin integrity. Secondly, ensure that your seat belt is tightly fastened to prevent your body from hitting the inside of the cockpit during touchdown, because as the saying goes, airplanes can be replaced, but people can’t.
Rapid Deceleration
Most general aviation airplanes are designed to protect you during forward acceleration up to 9Gs. Consider this example. If you’re flying at 50 MPH, the required stopping distance at a 9G deceleration is approximately 9.4 feet. And if you’re flying at 100 MPH, the required stopping distance at a 9G deceleration is about 37.6 feet. Think about it for a moment: 37 feet isn’t a significant amount of stopping distance for a survivable crash. In fact, it’s just a bit longer than the fuselage length of your plane.
Finding A Spot To Land
When looking for a place to land, there are two common choices: fields and roads. Unfortunately, both options come with their own risks. However, if you choose the right spot, the chances of walking away unharmed are quite high.
Let’s start with fields. Typically, you’re looking for an open field with a relatively flat area for landing. But fields don’t have to be completely clear. Landing in dense vegetation, such as a cornfield or an area with brush or small trees, can actually do an excellent job of stopping the airplane. And surprisingly, many times an airplane that lands in such areas can be repaired and fly again. Choosing an open field is definitely one of the best options for landing as it provides ample space for maneuvering, setting up for the landing, and landing into the wind. Additionally, most fields are large enough to give you plenty of room if you end up short or long of your landing spot.
However, you may not be fortunate enough to be over the perfect field when your engine fails.
Bad Landing Spot? You Can Still Tip The Odds In Your Favor
If you’re landing in a forested area, chances are you’ll be landing in the trees. And although landing in a tree grove may not be your first choice, there are steps you can take to make it survivable. You should use a normal landing configuration with full flaps and land into the wind to keep your ground speed low. When you “touch down” on the tree tops, aim for the slowest airspeed possible without stalling, so you can maintain a nose-high attitude in the trees. By keeping the nose high, the entire bottom of the plane can cushion your initial impact and prevent branches from breaking through the windshield.
When selecting the right trees to land on, choose low and closely spaced trees rather than tall trees with thin tops. It may be difficult to convince yourself that the dense trees are the better option, but they can effectively cushion your descent all the way to the ground. On the other hand, a free fall from the top of a 75-foot tree ends with a 4,000 foot-per-minute impact when you hit the ground, and that’s not going to be pleasant.
In a confined area like the mountains, there may not be many good options, and crashing into the side of a mountain is definitely not one of them. In such a situation, looking for rivers or creeks can be some of your best choices. Even though the area is limited, rivers are usually relatively flat, and a touchdown in the water generally provides a uniform deceleration, which is much more survivable than attempting to land on the side of a 45-degree mountain face.
Controlling Attitude and Sink Rate
When landing off-airport, the most critical mistake you can make is not controlling your aircraft attitude and sink rate. Fortunately, you can manage both until touchdown, even when you’re power-off. No matter where you are, if you land in a nose-low or level attitude, you risk hitting the ground and potentially flipping the plane or coming to a sudden stop, which can easily cause more than just a few bumps and bruises. Steep bank angles before landing are also problematic. When at a steep bank, your stall speed is significantly higher (at 60 degrees of bank, your stall speed is 40% higher). Additionally, if you strike one of your wings on the ground or anything else protruding from the ground, your plane will cartwheel, making the landing less survivable than a straight-ahead deceleration. Regardless of where you’re landing, you want to set yourself up for a straight-ahead, nose-high landing into the wind to achieve a slow ground speed and use the airplane to protect yourself.
How Should Your Aircraft Be Configured For A Field Landing?
So, what should you do with your flaps when landing off-field? Flaps allow you to fly at slower speeds before stalling, which is beneficial. However, they also significantly reduce glide distance. You need to be cautious about adding flaps too early during your setup for an off-field landing. Otherwise, your well-planned approach may go awry, and you’ll end up landing in a place you don’t want to be instead of a decent landing spot. Landing gear position is another factor to consider. If you’re flying a retractable gear plane, you need to decide whether to keep the gear up or down during landing. If you’re landing on something soft, such as a plowed field, having the gear down may increase the likelihood of the gear digging into the dirt and flipping the plane. Therefore, if you’re faced with a soft field in a retractable gear plane, intentionally keeping the gear up may result in a slower deceleration. However, if you’re landing on a hard surface, putting the gear down helps cushion the touchdown and decelerate the plane all the way to a complete stop.
Power-Off Landing On A Road
If you’re landing on a road instead of a field, you have a new set of challenges. With roads, you need to deal with cars, power lines, and signs along the road. And while landing on a road is a bit simpler than landing in a field, there are a few things to keep in mind. Firstly, consider the amount of traffic on the road. If there’s a lot, there’s a higher chance of hitting a car during touchdown, and if the car is traveling in the opposite direction, the impact will be intense. Additionally, your propeller, even though it’s only windmilling, can cause significant damage to a car and its passengers. So, if the road has a significant amount of cars, it may not be the best option. Next, power lines can be more difficult to detect. Power lines running along a road are typically far enough away that your wings won’t touch them during touchdown. However, power lines that cross the road are a different story. Finally, you need to be aware that highway signs are not your friend. Since the signs can hit your wingtips and potentially send you into the ditch, you want to avoid them if possible. Since the majority of highway signs are near road intersections, avoid landing in those spots to reduce the likelihood of hitting a “stop” or “speed limit” sign. And even though the speed limit sign is there, chances are you’ll be going faster during touchdown. Once you’ve selected a safe spot for a road landing, set up just like in a traffic pattern. Enter on a downwind leg and turn to base when you’re abreast of your touchdown point. Just like an airport power-off landing, add partial flaps on base and full flaps only when you’re 100% certain you’ll make your landing spot. After that, landing on a road is similar to landing on a runway, except that roads are usually narrower than runways. If there’s ever a time you want to land on centerline, this is it.
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