By Howard Deevers
When working to earn your Pilot Certificate, emergency procedures are a required part of your training. We all remember our instructors bringing the throttle to idle and telling us that our engine has failed. Now the drill begins. The instructor explains the sequence of events to follow: squawk 7700, use 121.5, find a place to land, switch fuel tanks, mixture rich, carb heat if carbureted, try to restart the engine, if it does not restart, make the best landing that you can.
This drill will be repeated several times during training, and you can expect one engine out emergency on your check ride with the DPE.
As a new CFI I used this same drill-training with all students making sure that they knew that transponder code 7700 is for emergencies, and 7600 is for loss of communications. And I thought that I was doing a good job of teaching my students about emergencies. Then I found out that this instruction may not be just right.
A student of mine had passed his Private Pilot and had bought a Piper Arrow. We flew lots of check out hours in the Arrow and he was a good and proficient pilot. Later we agreed to meet at Fond Du Lac and go to Oshkosh. He and another friend would fly the Arrow, and I would fly my Cherokee and arrive about at the same time.
Flying north and getting flight following from Milwaukee Approach, they had a sudden rough running engine (caused by a bad valve in one of the cylinders we later found out). The "surprise factor" kicked in, and he thought that the engine was about to quit.
His immediate reaction was to squawk 7700 on the transponder, and switch to 121.5 on his radio and declare an emergency. Just as I had taught him, he got about 3 responses on his radio. The first thing they wanted to know was "Where are you?"
He was shocked to learn that they did not know his location! He made a safe landing at Watertown, KRYV, left the plane there, rented a car and drove the remaining 38 miles to Fond Du Lac. When we met there he told me all about the incident and still did not understand why no one knew where he was.
Then I understood that just teaching the emergency procedures “by the book” is not enough. I had to apologize to him and tell him that I had never said to him that if you are already talking to any ATC service, and have an emergency of any kind, stay with them and declare your emergency with them. Don't change frequencies, unless you cannot make contact with anyone on the frequency you have been using. That ATC contact is the one that does know where you are and is your best resource in case of any emergency. If another frequency would be better for ATC, that controller will tell you to change to it.
Since that learning experience, I have modified my emergency procedures instruction to include the ATC contact. And that is why it is always a good idea to get flight following from ATC, if they have time; remember this is a "workload permitting" service that they provide. Their contracted duties must come first, but I can say that ATC is very accommodating for flight following when they can.
If you want to know more about emergencies, and flight safety, come to a Safety Program sponsored by Arizona Pilots Association, and the FAASTeam. They are free and count for the WINGS Program. Check the website for a location near you. Don't forget to “Bring your wingman!”