Takeoff Engine Failure

Thursday, December 22, 2022 at 01:49 PM ET

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Key Takeaways:

A pilot's personal experience highlights the extreme danger of sudden engine power loss at low altitude during initial climb, where rapid airspeed decay and high stall-spin risk necessitate instinctive, immediate action.
Current pilot training (syllabi, handbooks, and ACS) is criticized for inadequately preparing pilots for low-altitude engine-out emergencies, as it predominantly focuses on less critical scenarios at altitude.
The article advocates for amending the ACS to mandate specific, realistic training and testing for engine-out emergencies on initial climb at all pilot certification levels, urging pilots and students to insist on and practice this vital skill.

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I was a “young” pilot, with barely 200 hours, practicing solo closed patterns in our Mooney M20J. After a solid landing on the first, I powered off the runway for the second. Then it happened. At 300 feet, climbing at V_X, my engine faltered with no warning; I had lost all power at the worst time!

Without quick action by the pilot, a sudden, low-altitude power loss means instantaneous loss of airspeed, maybe to below stall speed. With heavy right rudder and additional drag from the windmilling propeller, landing gear and flaps, the pilot is in an aerodynamic maelstrom. Any attempt to continue climbing or hold altitude causes an immediate stall-spin, which, at such low altitude, is unrecoverable and likely fatal.