IMC and ENGINE FAILURE

[E-Flyer]

I just have a question for you ifr pilot's. You're in a single engine aircraft and are IMC... and all of a sudden you lose your engine. What do you do? How do you do the forced approach when you don't even see the ground?

If somebody could help elaborate on that it would be great.


Thanks

[iflyforpie]

3... 2... 1...

[FlaplessDork]

Hope you break out with room to spare so you can spot a safe place to put her down. Knowing the weather, the route, and the airplane will help you make your choice on where to go. Its definately a scary proposition. I know someone who it happened to but he didnt make it. Saved some of the pax though.

[iflyforpie]

Similar to drift down with an engine failure in a twin. You try to position yourself over the most favorable terrain, and rely on a certain amount of luck.

This issue specifically is why there is so much debate about SEIFR and a classic example of it going terribly wrong is the Sonic Blue Caravan accident.

GPWS, synthetic vision, and having limits on minimum enroute ceilings would seem to be logical precautions (they are not requirements).

Then there is always having the second engine....

[Dagwood]

Declare a Mayday and ask for vectors for the nearest airport.

And hope the ceiling is high enough to save the day. If not, maintain best glide until you see something.


Sort of the same situation as having a forced approach at night... Turn on the Landing Light, if you don't like what you see, turn it off

[old_man]

Treat it like you would an engine failure after take off. Just glide until you break out and hope there is something nice near by. If that doesn't float your boat you could always carry a chute with you.

But ya, getting close to DH on an ILS in a SEIFR and all of a sudden you lose your engine....that's just bad luck, you rolled the dice and it turned up snake eyes.

[altiplano]

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[niss]

But ya, getting close to DH on an ILS in a SEIFR and all of a sudden you lose your engine....that's just bad luck

I hadn't thought about it much before but that would be the best time to lose an engine IMC in my opinion. At least you have a runway right in front of you... glide the best ILS you can for the last few hundred feet and if you don't break out start a flair in as best a spot as you can figure and hope for a greaser on the centreline...

Don't forget putting your cowboy hat out and yippy kayaying!

[MichaelP]

Do not forget that most of the old aircraft renters fly have vacuum systems that also fail with the engine and so you should carry stickers to cover the erronious instruments and be proficient in limted/partial panel flying.
A look at the POH should also give you some ideas, the Cessna POH suggests taking your hands off the controls and using the ball, and heading to get down. On just the compass perhaps you should consider the turn needle or the turn coordinator. I prefer needle and ball, it's much more reliable.

An instructor brought up that most dangerous of flying club bar ideas: spinning out of cloud!
No bloody fear!
I knew a chap who did this in a Tripacer, spun out of the cloud as he'd heard he should, there was something like a 400 foot cloud base, recovered only just with a splat into the ground and one steel tube Piper smashed to pieces and absorbed the energy... He lived...

As for me, in a dire situation I'd rather be flying the aeroplane with wings level and minimum sink then perhaps it will be like a 40 mph collision in a car....

[Hedley]

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[loopa]

nice way of putting it hedley.