Approach and Landing with an Inoperative Engine (Simulated) (AMEL, AMES)

• Maintain the manufacturer's recommended approach airspeed ±5 knots in the landing configuration, with a stabilized approach, until landing is assured (S6)
• Touch down on the first one-third of the available runway or landing surface, with no drift, longitudinal axis aligned with and over the runway center or landing path (S8)
• Maintain directional control and appropriate crosswind correction throughout (S9)
• Promptly recognize the failure and maintain positive control (S1); set engine controls, reduce drag, identify, verify, and simulate feathering — the evaluator then sets zero thrust (S2)
• Manufacturer's control combination, trim as required (S3); follow the manufacturer's emergency procedures and complete the checklists (S4, S10); monitor the operating engine and systems (S5); smooth, timely, correct control application before, during, and after touchdown (S7)

(FAA-S-ACS-7B, Task IX.G.)

Barely at all, and that is the point. "The approach and landing with OEI is essentially the same as a two-engine approach and landing. The traffic pattern should be flown at similar altitudes, airspeeds, and key positions. The differences are the reduced power available and the fact that the remaining thrust is asymmetrical. A higher-than-normal power setting is necessary on the operative engine" (AFH ch. 13).

One reassurance worth having ready for the oral: "The direction of the traffic pattern, and therefore the turns, is of no consequence as far as airplane controllability and performance are concerned. It is perfectly acceptable to make turns toward the failed engine."

Performance-gated at each step (AFH ch. 13):

• Downwind — with adequate airspeed and performance, extend the gear; confirm DOWN no later than abeam the intended point of landing. Performance permitting, take initial flaps (typically 10°) and begin the descent from pattern altitude. Airspeed no slower than VYSE
• Base — if performance is adequate, extend to an intermediate setting (typically 25°). If performance is inadequate — measured by decaying airspeed or a high sink rate — delay further flap extension until closer to the runway. VYSE is still the minimum airspeed
• Final — a normal 3° glidepath. Use VASI or other vertical guidance if available. Slightly steeper is acceptable; a long, flat, low approach should be avoided, and so should large, sudden power applications or reductions

Delaying the final flap setting until landing is assured, or landing with partial flaps, is acceptable technique.

Use the manufacturer's recommended speed. Absent one, fly no slower than VYSE until short final with the landing assured, and "in no case less than critical engine-out minimum control speed (VMC)" (AFH ch. 13). Once landing is assured, slow to 1.3 VSO or the AFM/POH speed.

The ACS wants that number held to ±5 knots in the landing configuration with a stabilized approach until landing is assured (S6). Recall the FAA's stabilized approach concept: within 500 feet AGL, on speed, in trim, configured for landing, tracking the extended centerline, in a constant angle of descent to an aim point in the touchdown zone, needing only minor corrections thereafter.

Usually not, and the professional answer is to plan as if you cannot. "A single-engine go-around on final approach may not be possible. As a practical matter, once the airplane is on final approach with landing gear and flaps extended, it is committed to land on the intended runway, on another runway, a taxiway, or grassy infield" (AFH ch. 13).

Why: "Most light-twins do not have the performance to climb on one engine with landing gear and flaps extended. Considerable altitude is lost while maintaining VYSE and retracting landing gear and flaps. Losses of 500 feet or more are not unusual." And if the gear was lowered by the alternate means, retraction may not be possible at all, "virtually negating any climb capability."

So the decision point is before you configure, not on short final. If a go-around is even plausible, delay the gear and flaps.

Two things change (AFH ch. 13).

Float: "With drag from only one windmilling propeller, the airplane tends to float more than on a two-engine approach. Precise airspeed control therefore is essential, especially when landing on a short, wet, and/or slippery surface." The ACS asks for touchdown in the first one-third of the surface — float is what busts that.

Trim change: "The pilot should be prepared for a rudder trim change as the power of the operating engine is reduced to idle in the round out just prior to touchdown." As the asymmetry disappears, the trim you set is suddenly wrong, and the airplane yaws.

The airplane should remain in trim throughout the approach.

It is a recognized technique. "Some pilots favor resetting the rudder trim to neutral on final and compensating for yaw by holding rudder pressure for the remainder of the approach. This eliminates the rudder trim change close to the ground as the throttle is closed during the round out for landing. This technique eliminates the need for groping for the rudder trim and manipulating it to neutral during final approach, which many pilots find to be highly distracting" (AFH ch. 13).

The cost is sustained leg pressure through the flare. Use the AFM/POH recommendation or personal preference — but pick one before the approach and brief it, rather than deciding at 200 feet.

The cues are muted and the identification is harder. "An engine failure in a descent or other low power setting can be deceiving. The dramatic yaw and performance loss is absent. At very low power settings, the pilot may not even be aware of a failure" (AFH ch. 13).

The AFH's diagnostic: "If a failure is suspected, the pilot should advance both engine mixtures, propellers, and throttles significantly, to the takeoff settings if necessary, to correctly identify the failed engine. The power on the operative engine can always be reduced later."

That is exactly what S2 means by "set the engine controls" before you identify and verify — you cannot read a dead foot at idle power.

Retard the correct propeller control toward the FEATHER position and stop there — the evaluator moves it forward and sets zero thrust with the appropriate manifold pressure and rpm, then states clearly who has which engine (AFH ch. 13).

Your responsibilities:

• Identify by control input, not gauges
• Verify by retarding the suspect throttle and confirming no performance change
• Touch only the control for the engine you verified
• Acknowledge the transfer out loud

In the pattern, with the airplane low and configured, a mishandled prop control on the good engine is not a recoverable mistake. If there is any ambiguity about who is operating what, say so.

Because every drag item you add is a commitment you may not be able to reverse. "Best OEI climb performance is obtained at VYSE with maximum available power and minimum drag. After the flaps and landing gear have been retracted and the propeller of the failed engine feathered, a key element in best climb performance is minimizing sideslip" (AFH ch. 13).

On the approach, the same physics runs backward: gear and full flaps take away the climb capability that a go-around would need. The AFH's schedule is explicitly performance-gated — extend flaps on base "if performance is adequate," and if airspeed is decaying or the sink rate is high, delay further extension. VYSE is the floor throughout.

The same way you fly it in the climb, and it still is not the centered ball. With an engine inoperative, "the centered ball is no longer the indicator of zero sideslip due to asymmetric thrust," and no flight deck instrument directly indicates it (AFH ch. 13).

• About 2° of bank toward the operating engine with one-third to one-half ball deflection toward that engine, absent manufacturer guidance
• Actual zero-sideslip bank varies among airplanes from one and one-half to two and one-half degrees, and varies slightly with available power
• "The zero sideslip ball position for straight flight is also the zero sideslip position for turning flight" — it doesn't change as you turn base and final
• A yaw string aligned vertically up the windshield is the direct indication

Then trim it so you are not fighting the airplane while flying a stabilized approach.

Feather. A windmilling propeller "at high speed in the low range of blade angles can produce parasite drag as great as the parasite drag of the entire airframe," while a single feathered propeller contributes only a small part of total drag (AFH ch. 13).

Sequence:

1. Control the airplane, then set the engine controls up (mixtures, props, throttles) so the failure is readable
2. Identify by dead foot
3. Verify by retarding the suspect throttle
4. Feather — the process may take up to 10 seconds
5. Secure: fuel off (mixture, boost pump, selector), ignition, alternator/generator, cowl flaps closed

Then decide where you are going, and set up an approach that does not need a go-around.

"Crossfeed is used for extended single-engine operation. If a suitable airport is close at hand, there is no need to consider crossfeed. If prolonged flight on a single engine is inevitable due to airport non-availability, then crossfeed allows use of fuel that would otherwise be unavailable to the operating engine. It also permits the pilot to balance the fuel consumption to avoid an out-of-balance wing heaviness" (AFH ch. 13).

And the item that belongs in your approach brief: "Prior to landing, crossfeed should be terminated and the operating engine returned to its main tank fuel supply."

AFM/POH crossfeed procedures "vary widely" — selector positions and boost pump usage differ greatly among models. "Thorough fuel system knowledge is essential if crossfeed is to be conducted."

Mostly favorably — until you add power. VMC rises with power on the operating engine, so at approach power the controllability margin is comfortable. The trap is a sudden large power application, which is one reason the AFH says to avoid "large, sudden power applications or reductions" on final (AFH ch. 13).

Two configuration items also move against you as you clean up for a go-around: VMC increases when the landing gear is retracted (extended gear aids directional stability), and VMC increases as weight is reduced — and at the end of a flight you are light. Combine "light, gear coming up, full power on one side, low and slow" and you have described the classic VMC roll accident.

That is why the approach speed floor is "in no case less than VMC," and why the go-around decision belongs before configuration, not after.

• R1 — failure inflight or on the approach. Brief where you would go from each point in the pattern before you enter it
• R2 — collision hazards. A higher power setting, an unusual profile, and a possibly non-standard pattern direction; keep the traffic scan and the radio calls up
• R3 — configuring. Gear and flaps are gated by performance, not by habit position in the pattern
• R4 — low-altitude maneuvering, stall, spin, CFIT. Airspeed never below VYSE until landing is assured, and never below VMC at all. A stall under asymmetric power invites a spin entry in the direction of the idle engine, and twins "are not required to demonstrate recoveries from spins, and their spin recovery characteristics are generally very poor" (AFH ch. 13)
• R5 — distractions and task prioritization. Fly the airplane; the securing checklist can wait
• R6 — possible single-engine go-around. Have already decided that you are landing