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Swift, but methodical
If instead, you follow the engine failure “drill” as intended, you’ll do several things before you yank the prop control into feather. Identify the failed engine using control feel, i.e., “dead foot, dead engine.” The split flap scenario gives you no clues here; it still suggests your conditioned response. Verify by pulling the suspected dead engine’s throttle back substantially. Here’s where you must slow down—pull the throttle back halfway or more and evaluate control feel again. If pulling the throttle requires you to change your rudder input to hold heading, then either:
1. you’ve misidentified the failed engine;
2. you’ve selected the wrong throttle control for the engine you’ve identified; or
3. you don’t have a dead engine, after all.
Reducing throttle and getting a change in control feel might be very confusing because it contradicts what all your training tells you to expect. But pausing long enough to confirm your suspicions can save your life. Where else might you look? If the EGTs/TITs are on target, then the engines are running as expected. The exhaust gases’ tem- perature will plunge immediately after failure, giving you near-instantaneous confirmation of whether and which engine has failed. One last check: assuming the throttle
verification step confirms a dead engine, verify one more time with the propeller control. Instead of snatching it im- mediately into feather, pull it partway back and confirm once again there’s no change in rudder requirement to hold heading. If you’ve positively verified this a second time, then pull the control into feather. I’ve seen pilots get past throttle verification in the Baron simulator and even active airline pilots in a Piper Seminole simulator when I was a consultant to Embry Riddle, only to grab the wrong propeller control and feather.
When you suspect a failed engine, it’s far more impor- tant to be correct than to be quick. Complete the engine failure “drill” swiftly but, more importantly, methodically... evaluating the airplane’s response with each completed checklist step.
Fixing asymmetry
If you confirm both engines are still running, what do you do? Simple: fly the airplane. Hold optimal performance speeds and accept what performance the airplane will give you until you resolve the situation, usually by safely put- ting the airplane on the ground for deeper investigation.
If you’ve positively determined (by visual check) that you have an asymmetric flap extension, you may be able to remove the asymmetry—that’s where your systems knowledge comes in. Most Pilot’s Operating Handbooks and Airplane Flight Manuals (POH/AFM) contain no guidance
20 • TWIN & TURBINE / May 2024