Engine Failure After Liftoff (Simulated) (AMEL, AMES)

• Heading ±10° and airspeed ±5 knots (S9) — the tightest airspeed tolerance in Area IX, tied only with the single-engine approach speed in IX.G S6
• Establish VYSE; with obstructions present, establish VXSE or VMC +5 knots, whichever is greater, until the obstructions are cleared, then transition to VYSE (S2)
• Reduce drag: gear and flaps retracted per the manufacturer (S3)
• Simulate feathering the inoperative engine's propeller — the evaluator then sets zero thrust (S4) — and simulate securing it (S8)
• Flight controls in the manufacturer's recommended combination, trim as required (S5)
• If a climb is not possible at VYSE, maintain VYSE and return to the departure airport or fly an approach to the most suitable landing area (S7)
• Monitor the operating engine and systems (S6); complete the appropriate checklist(s) (S10)

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

Four Cs — control, configuration, climb, checklist (AFH ch. 13):

• Control. Stop the yaw with prompt, often aggressive rudder. Ensure airspeed stays above VMC. Then a slight bank toward the operating engine — at least 5° and a maximum of 10° initially, held only momentarily, just long enough to establish directional control. Lower the pitch attitude from VY to VYSE. Trim
• Configuration. Memory items: VYSE, takeoff power, flaps up, gear up, identify, verify, feather (some airplanes retract gear before flaps)
• Climb. Reduce the bank to the best-climb value and hold VYSE with pitch
• Checklist. Review the printed engine-failure-after-takeoff checklist, then run the securing failed engine checklist as workload permits

Two different jobs, done in sequence: the bigger bank buys directional control right after the failure; the smaller bank buys climb performance once that control is secured. "At least 5° and a maximum of 10° of bank toward the operative engine should be used initially to stop the yaw and maintain directional control. This initial bank input is held only momentarily, just long enough to establish or ensure directional control" (AFH ch. 13).

Then: "Climb performance suffers when bank angles exceed approximately 2 or 3°, but obtaining and maintaining VYSE and directional control are paramount." So you buy control first with a bigger bank, then trade it back for performance once the yaw is stopped. And never fix the roll with aileron before rudder — "attempting to correct the roll with aileron without first applying rudder increases drag and adverse yaw and further degrades directional control."

"If the yaw cannot be controlled with full rudder applied, reducing thrust on the operative engine is the only alternative" (AFH ch. 13).

That is a hard thing to do a hundred feet off the ground, which is why you should have decided it in advance. Reducing power on the good engine reduces the asymmetric moment and lowers the speed at which you can hold heading — you trade the last of your climb performance for continued control. A controlled arrival is survivable; a VMC roll at low altitude is not.

• Identify — determine which engine failed. "Identification should be primarily through the control inputs required to maintain straight flight, not the engine gauges," since confirmation on the gauges may or may not be possible depending on the failure mode. Dead foot, dead engine — rudder pressure is on the side of the operating engine
• Verify — retard the throttle of the engine you believe has failed; no change in performance confirms the identification
• Feather — bring the corresponding propeller control fully aft. Oil pressure dumps from the governor and the counterweights, aided by a spring or high-pressure air in the prop dome, drive the blades to feather. The entire process may take up to 10 seconds (AFH ch. 13)
• Secure — feathering only alters blade angle and stops rotation. To secure, turn off the fuel (mixture, electric boost pump, fuel selector), ignition, alternator/generator, and close the cowl flaps; on a pressurized airplane, close the air bleed

Because a windmilling propeller is enormous drag. "At the smaller blade angles near the flat pitch position, the drag added by the propeller is large. A propeller windmilling at high speed in the low range of blade angles can produce parasite drag as great as the parasite drag of the entire airframe" (AFH ch. 13).

Feathered, the blade is streamlined with the relative wind and "the parasite drag from a single, feathered propeller is a small part of the airplane's total drag." That is the difference between a marginal climb and a descent. Note the design logic: multiengine props are oil-pressure-to-decrease-pitch, so oil pressure is the only thing keeping them out of feather — by design, so a loss of oil pressure or a governor failure permits feathering.

The control combination that presents the airplane's smallest profile to the relative wind and produces the best OEI climb. "In a multiengine airplane with an inoperative engine, the centered ball is no longer the indicator of zero sideslip due to asymmetric thrust. In fact, there is no flight deck instrument that directly indicates conditions for zero sideslip" (AFH ch. 13).

• Bank and rudder used individually are both wrong; used together in the proper combination, they produce zero sideslip and best climb
• Actual bank angle for zero sideslip varies among airplanes from one and one-half to two and one-half degrees
• Without specific manufacturer guidance, use 2° of bank and one-third to one-half ball deflection toward the operating engine
• A yaw string aligns vertically up the windshield at zero sideslip
• The zero-sideslip ball position for straight flight is also correct in turning flight

These recommendations apply to reciprocating twins flown at VYSE with the inoperative engine feathered.

VSSE — safe, intentional one-engine-inoperative speed — is "the minimum speed to intentionally render the critical engine inoperative" (AFH ch. 13).

It is a training and demonstration limit, not a performance speed. "Simulation of inflight engine failures below VSSE introduces a very high and unnecessary training risk," and "intentionally failing an engine at speeds less than VSSE creates a high likelihood for loss of control and an accident." When your instructor sets up an engine failure in the air, VSSE is the floor below which they should not do it to you.

Accelerate-go distance is the horizontal distance required to continue the takeoff and climb to 50 feet, assuming an engine failure at VR or VLOF (AFH ch. 13). Read that carefully — under ideal circumstances it brings you "to a point a mere 50 feet above the takeoff elevation," a little more than one wingspan, assuming absolutely level terrain and no obstructions.

And getting even that required instantaneous recognition, gear retraction, correct identification and feathering, and precise airspeed and bank control. Worse: not all AFM/POHs publish accelerate-go distances, fewer still publish climb gradients, and published figures come from ideal flight test conditions unlikely to be duplicated in service.

"The prudent multiengine pilot should pick a decision point in the takeoff and climb sequence in advance. If an engine fails before this point, the takeoff should be rejected, even if airborne, for a landing on whatever runway or surface lies essentially ahead. If an engine fails after this point, the pilot should promptly execute the appropriate engine failure procedure and continue the climb, assuming the performance capability exists" (AFH ch. 13).

The general rule the AFH gives you: "if the landing gear has not been selected up, the takeoff should be rejected, even if airborne."

And the performance floor for even considering a continued takeoff: "the option of continuing the takeoff probably does not exist unless the published single-engine rate-of-climb performance is at least 100 to 200 fpm" — and "thermal turbulence, wind gusts, engine and propeller wear, or poor technique in airspeed, bank angle, and rudder control can easily negate even a 200 fpm rate of climb."

"Raising the landing gear as early as possible after liftoff drastically decreases the drag profile and significantly increases climb performance should an engine failure occur. An equally important point to remember is that leaving the gear down to land on sufficient runway or overrun is a much better option than landing with the gear retracted" (AFH ch. 13).

The AFH's compromise: retract when there is insufficient runway available for landing and after a positive rate of climb is established. The general recommendation is to raise the gear not later than VYSE airspeed, and once the gear is up, consider it a GO commitment if climb performance is available.

Caveat for high density altitude: a positive rate with the gear down may not be achievable at all, so "waiting for a positive rate of climb under these conditions is not practicable."

The AFH categorizes them by gear position and performance (AFH ch. 13):

1. Gear still down. Keep the nose as straight as possible, close both throttles, adjust pitch for adequate airspeed, and descend to the runway. Fly a normal landing; do not force it on. Land on the remaining runway or overrun. "There are really no other practical options" — the chance of retracting flaps and gear, feathering, and accelerating while holding control is minimal. On airplanes with a single engine-driven hydraulic pump, losing that engine means the gear can only be raised by windmilling the engine or hand-pumping, which "is not a viable alternative during takeoff"

2. Gear selected up, single-engine climb performance inadequate. Land on whatever essentially lies ahead, or continue ahead in a descent at VYSE with the remaining engine producing power. "Remaining airborne and bleeding off airspeed in a futile attempt to maintain altitude is almost invariably fatal. Landing under control is paramount"

3. Gear selected up, climb performance adequate. Fly the four Cs and continue

The statistics behind this: "Analysis of engine failures on takeoff reveals a very high success rate of off-airport engine inoperative landings when the airplane is landed under control. Analysis also reveals a very high fatality rate in stall spin accidents when the pilot attempts flight beyond the performance capability of the airplane."

"As turning flight reduces climb performance, climb should be made straight ahead or with shallow turns to avoid obstacles to an altitude of at least 400 feet AGL before attempting a return to the airport" (AFH ch. 13).

Some perspective on how little you have: for an airplane with a 150 fpm OEI rate of climb at a 90-knot VYSE, reaching 500 feet AGL from the accelerate-go 50-foot point takes about 3 minutes and roughly 5 additional NM, a climb gradient of about 1.6 percent. "Any turn, such as to return to the airport, seriously degrades the already marginal climb performance."

Everywhere you are about to fly, because the OEI profile puts you where nobody expects you to be:

• You are low, slow, and climbing at 150–200 fpm across the departure path, and you cannot climb over anyone. Anything that wants the same airspace wins by default
• A return to the field crosses the departure corridor and often arrives opposite the flow — the AFH's 400 ft AGL floor before turning back exists for climb performance, but it also means an extended stretch of straight-ahead flight through the traffic path (AFH ch. 13)
• Your scan is saturated by the yaw, the identification, and the airspeed. The single most useful mitigation is offloading the lookout — declare the emergency with ATC if a facility is available (AFH ch. 13) and ask for traffic and a clear runway; at a non-towered field, broadcast the emergency and your intentions on CTAF
• You have the legal priority — "an aircraft in distress has the right-of-way over all other air traffic" (91.113(c)) — but priority only helps if the other airplane knows you are there. Say it out loud on the radio

Squawk 7700 once workload permits. Do not let the transponder or the radio compete with flying VYSE.

Because it lives next door to red line. "VX and VXSE are often perilously close to VMC, leaving scant margin for error in the event of engine failure as VXSE is assumed. If flaps were used for takeoff, the engine failure situation becomes even more critical due to the additional drag incurred" (AFH ch. 13).

That is exactly why the ACS phrases S2 as VXSE or VMC +5 knots, whichever is greater — the standard refuses to let you fly a published angle-of-climb speed that offers no control margin. Clear the obstruction, then transition to VYSE.

The AFH's planning advice follows from the same arithmetic: "If VX is less than 5 knots higher than VMC, give strong consideration to reducing useful load or using another runway in order to increase the takeoff margins so that a short-field technique is not required."

VYSE is best single-engine rate of climb — and, above the single-engine absolute ceiling, it yields the minimum rate of sink (AFH ch. 13). It is the one speed that is right whether you are climbing or drifting down.

Related definitions worth having ready:

• Single-engine service ceiling — where the airplane can no longer maintain 50 fpm with one engine inoperative; single-engine absolute ceiling — where climb is no longer possible
• All-engine service ceiling — highest altitude sustaining 100 fpm with both engines operating
• Drift down — above the single-engine absolute ceiling, hold VYSE to minimize the altitude loss rate; the rate is greatest immediately after the failure and decreases as the single-engine ceiling is approached
• Real airplanes may not hold altitude even at the published single-engine ceiling, due to engine and propeller wear, turbulence, and pilot technique — "any further rate of sink, however, would likely be modest"

Your job: retard the propeller control toward FEATHER on the memory items. The evaluator's job: promptly set zero thrust and say so out loud — the exchange must be explicit, not assumed. "When an instructor simulates an engine failure, the learner should respond with the appropriate memory items and retard the appropriate propeller control toward the FEATHER position. Assuming zero thrust will be set, the instructor promptly moves the propeller control forward and sets the appropriate manifold pressure and rpm" (AFH ch. 13).

"It is vital that the learner be kept informed of the instructor's intentions. At this point the instructor may say words to the effect, 'I have the right engine; you have the left. I have set zero thrust and the right engine is simulated feathered.' Any ambiguity as to who is operating what systems or controls increases the likelihood of an unintended outcome."

Supporting practices: the FAA recommends all in-flight simulated engine failures below 3,000 feet AGL be introduced with a smooth reduction of the throttle, keeping the engine running and instantly available. Pulling circuit breakers is not recommended for training and "can lead to a subsequent gear up landing." Smooth throttle handling also protects dynamic crankshaft counterweights.

Not necessarily, and the reasoning is worth saying out loud. "Not all engine failures result in complete power loss. If there is a performance loss when the throttle of the affected engine is retarded, some power is still available. In this case, the pilot may consider allowing the engine to run until the airplane reaches a safe altitude and airspeed for single-engine flight" (AFH ch. 13).

"While shutdown of a malfunctioning engine may prevent additional damage to the engine in certain circumstances, shutting down an engine that can still produce partial power may increase risk for an accident." Metal is cheaper than a stall-spin.

Because memory items confirm a condition as well as initiate an action. "The purpose of the memory items is to either initiate the appropriate action or to confirm that a condition exists. Action on each item may not be required in all cases" (AFH ch. 13).

They also generalize to more than one situation: "In an engine failure from a go-around, for example, the landing gear and flaps would likely be extended when the failure occurred." One flow, several scenarios — which is exactly why it is worth having as a flow rather than a page.

And after the memory items: run the printed checklist, then the securing checklist, "deliberately and without undue haste" unless you suspect a fire. Other than closing the failed engine's cowl flap, none of the securing items materially affect climb performance if left undone — but rushing them risks actuating the wrong control. Declare an emergency with ATC if a facility is available.