⚠️ FOR TRAINING PURPOSES ONLY — These tools simulate emergency procedures for educational use. In a real emergency, follow your aircraft's emergency checklist and contact ATC immediately.
Aviation Emergency Tools
Interactive training aids for emergency procedures — practice makes proficient
Disclaimer: This page is for training and educational purposes only. The emergency scenarios depicted are simulations. Always follow your approved aircraft Emergency Checklist, your operator's SOPs, and ATC instructions in actual emergencies. AviationRef.com accepts no liability for outcomes in actual emergency situations.
Working out your glide range in your head
A glide ratio is just a statement about a triangle. A Cessna 172 at its best glide speed, clean and with the propeller windmilling, sits at roughly 9:1, meaning nine units forward for every one unit down. The only awkward part is that height is quoted in feet and range in nautical miles, so the units have to be reconciled before the ratio is any use.
1 nm = 6,076 ft (call it 6,000) height in nm = 3,000 ft ÷ 6,000 = 0.5 nm still-air range = 0.5 × 9 = 4.5 nm
So from 3,000 ft above ground level you have about four and a half miles of options in every direction, a circle roughly nine miles across. Shortcut for the cockpit: divide your height AGL by 1,000, halve it, then multiply by the glide ratio. At 5,000 ft that is 2.5 × 9, about 22 nm. Note the AGL, not the altimeter reading. Over the Peak District at 3,000 ft on the QNH you might only have 1,200 ft of usable height, which cuts the circle to under two miles.
Wind, and why the still-air figure is optimistic
Glide ratio is measured through the air. The ground underneath is moving. A 172 gliding at 68 KIAS into a 20 kt headwind makes good about 48 kt over the ground while descending at the same rate, so the effective ratio drops to roughly 9 × (48/68), about 6.4:1, and the 4.5 nm becomes closer to 3.2 nm. Turn downwind and the same arithmetic works in your favour, giving about 11.6:1. This is why the field behind you is often the better one on a windy day, and why the glide circle drawn on a moving map is an oval in practice.
Best glide speed, and the temptation to stretch
Best glide for a 172 is published around 68 KIAS at maximum weight, and it falls with weight; at light weights the correct speed is nearer 60 to 65 KIAS. That single speed is the bottom of a drag curve, and the curve rises on both sides. Fly 15 kt fast and parasite drag eats the extra distance. Fly 15 kt slow and induced drag does the same thing, only worse, because you are also closer to the stall while manoeuvring at low level.
The failure mode worth understanding is stretching. The field looks short, so the nose comes up. Airspeed bleeds off, the aircraft climbs briefly on the energy it already had, and then settles onto a steeper descent path at a speed that produces less range, not more. The aeroplane appears to be reaching for a moment and then falls behind. Pitching for the published number and accepting the field you can actually reach beats arriving at the good field in a stalled turn.
Aviate, navigate, communicate, in that order
The phrase is worn out from repetition, which is a shame, because the ordering is doing real work. Take an engine failure after take-off in a single at 700 ft.
Aviate is the first two seconds and it is physical. Lower the nose to the glide attitude before anything else. The aircraft was trimmed for a climb at full power; remove the power and it will decelerate towards the stall while you are still noticing the silence. Nothing else matters until the speed is stable and the wings are level.
Navigate means choosing where the aircraft is going and committing to it. Landing area, then wind, then obstructions, then surface. Below roughly 500 ft after take-off that usually means broadly ahead, within about 30 degrees either side; the turnback is a manoeuvre that has killed people who practised it only at altitude. Higher up, this is where the glide arithmetic pays for itself, and where the drills fit: fuel selector, mixture, mags, carburettor heat, primer.
Communicate is last because the radio has never yet flown an aeroplane. If height and workload allow, squawk 7700, then MAYDAY three times on the frequency you are already on, with callsign, nature of the emergency, position, intentions, and souls on board. On a short EFATO there may be no time for any of that, and that is an acceptable outcome. A silent forced landing in a decent field is a better result than a well-worded call on the way into a hedge.
The three emergency squawks
7500, unlawful interference. Selecting it flags the aircraft as hijacked on every radar display handling it. Expect the controller to ask a confirming question phrased so that a normal-sounding answer is meaningful, typically along the lines of confirming you are squawking assigned code 7500. The response escalates well beyond ATC and cannot be quietly withdrawn.
7600, radio failure. It tells the controller to stop expecting answers and to start issuing instructions blind, watching the aircraft for compliance and clearing conflicting traffic out of the way. Try the previous frequency, the alternate box, the handheld, and a listening watch on 121.5 MHz before you accept the failure is total.
7700, general emergency. An aural and visual alert at the sector position, and the aircraft becomes the controller's priority. Airspace gets cleared, the emergency services are alerted, and a discrete frequency is often offered. Use it whenever you need help, including situations short of a MAYDAY, and stop worrying about the paperwork.
One mechanical caution when changing codes. Older transponders with rotary or thumbwheel selectors pass through every intervening value on the way, so dialling from 7000 to 7400 can momentarily transmit 7100, 7200, 7300, and dialling from 7000 to 7600 can transmit 7500 for long enough to trigger an alert on the ground. The habit is to select standby before changing the code, set the new digits, then return to altitude or normal mode. Modern keypad units avoid the problem, but plenty of club aircraft still have the knobs. If you do trip 7500 accidentally, say so on the radio straight away and clearly.
These pages are for study and revision only. Fly the drills in your own aircraft's flight manual, at the speeds and weights it publishes, and check the current national procedures for your airspace.