And mid-flight engine failures aren't entirely uncommon. In February, a United Airlines and a Delta A made emergency landings on the same day because of engine problems.
While losing an engine sounds scary, it was the loss of air pressure that placed the plane in greater peril. In mountainous areas like the Rockies where terrain can be higher than 10, feet, pilots aim for the minimum safe altitude. The standard operating procedure in this case is for the flight crew to call air traffic control, declare an emergency, and begin a rapid descent, with the thrust lever for the remaining engine set to idle and thin plates known as spoilers extended above the wings to increase drag.
To prevent blacking out, Shults and her copilot would have donned full-face masks supplied by a pressurized oxygen tank. Once having reached 10, feet, the flight crew would have removed their oxygen masks and continued to fly the plane normally, which the Southwest crew did until their emergency landing in Philly.
They could have had it worse. There have been a handful of cases on commercial flights in which an emergency has knocked out both engines. The only important thing is to keep the plane flying. So you should put the aircraft into a glide at the best angle and best speed for your particular plane. These are something you should know in advance.
After that the aircraft should be carefully trimmed for that speed and glide angle. The next thing to do is to look for a safe landing site.
Ideally you will have been flying with the possibility of engine failure in the back of your mind, which means that you will not be flying over a congested or built up area, and you will have quite a wide choice of fields in which to land. If you are unsure of where to find a good landing site, turn downwind, so that you can cover a large amount of ground while looking for a landing area.
You now need to select a suitable field. These five Ss are size, shape, surface, slope, and surroundings. In other words, you need a large field of a sensible shape, and it should be flat, with no high crops in it, and no large obstacles to be cleared. You now need to work out how to land in the middle of your chosen field. You need to plan an approach and pattern which will bring you safely to the middle of the field for touchdown, as this allows you some space for error.
Only when all of this is done should you start to consider a possible engine restart, and a mayday call on the radio. Once you are safely established in a glide which you know will enable you to reach your chosen field, can you can take sensible steps to restart the engine. You may only need something as simple as the application of carburetor heat or to change fuel tanks.
If this is the case, well and good, and you can fly away safely. If it is something more complex than that, then it is best not to waste time bothering. I was always taught that if carburetor heat or changing fuel tanks did not work, you should not try anything else, but should just concentrate on landing the plane safely. Putting out a mayday call will hopefully draw attention to your plight, and it means that the emergency services can be alerted, so that someone will be there to help when you land, or at least well on the way.
The mayday call taught during the PPL course is quite detailed, and this is fine if you have time for it. Simply give ATC your callsign and position if that is all you can manage.
There is not much point in telling them your altitude, as it will be constantly changing! Once you are committed, and you know you can reach the field safely, you can start to do shutdown checks if time permits.
Turn off the fuel and the engine, as you do not want the engine to suddenly and unaccountably start up at very low level, which has occasionally been known to happen.
But ensure the electrics remain on, to enable electrically operated items such as flaps and the radio to operate. If there is time, brief your passengers for the emergency landing.
Of course, they should have been briefed before the start of the flight, but they will probably not remember everything by this point. From the foot point, the approach becomes the same as the glide approach exercise which you will have practiced during the PPL course. Be too high if necessary, rather than too low. You cannot gain height, and on no account try to stretch the glide.
But if necessary you can lose height, by doing S-turns, side slipping, or even orbiting. Once you are certain of reaching your aiming point, you can use flaps if necessary.
After that try to land as slowly as is safe, particularly if the field is soft or at all uneven, or has crops in it. But remember, your primary objective is to survive the forced landing; saving the aircraft is a bonus! Engine failure after takeoff is one of the most difficult emergencies to deal with. After all, the plane will be climbing, and at a low altitude.
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