An emergency landing is an accelerated landing performed by a plane in an emergency in response to a situation that possess an immediate threat to the airplane’s safety and operation. If an airfield is not accessible, it usually involves a forced detour to the closest or most suitable airport, airbase, an off-airport landing, or ditching. As soon as an emergency is declared, flights under air traffic control will take precedence over all other aircraft activities. Therefore, how to fly a plane in an emergency is the most crucial question that arises in mind while visualizing the crisis.
The most fundamental term to describe circumstances is where a plane in an emergency makes an unusual touchdown. Other words are employed to highlight different facets of the event. The following is a list of examples of similar terminology. Be aware that additional terms may be used at other times and that sometimes a different phrase will apply even though the circumstance does not call for an emergency landing.
Types of emergency landings
The types of emergency plane
- Planned Landing: A plane in an emergency landing has sufficient time to organize the landing, brief the passengers, and prepare them for the ensuing emergency landing or crash.
- Unplanned Landing: When a plane in an emergency has little to no time to prepare the aircraft or brief the passengers, it is called an emergency landing.
- Forced landing: It is a landing in which a plane in an emergency has to suffer technical difficulties to land. No matter where landing as soon as possible is essential because a massive system collapse has already happened or is about to happen. It is brought on by the malfunction or damage to crucial components such as engines, hydraulics, and landing gear, demanding to attempt a landing in the absence of a runway. The pilot tries to land the plane in an emergency. It involves a little risk of injury or fatality to anyone inside. The forced landing may even take place while the aircraft is still capable of flight to avoid a crash or ditching situation.
- Precautionary landing: It can occur on a plane in an emergency due to planned landings in locations where limited information is available, unexpected in-flight changes, or unusual conditions or emergencies. It may be due to airplane problems or medical or police emergencies. The sooner pilots find and inspect potential landing sites, the less likely they are to impose additional restrictions due to deteriorating aircraft conditions, weather, or other factors.
- Ditching: Ditching is a measured landing by a plane in an emergency. It may be due to almost anything, but typically it is because of engine failure or if the fuel is running out. Pilots only adopt for ditching when there is no other alternative. Even though their struggle, pilots do not experience widespread training on ditching. Pilots do not experience ditching, airplanes, or flight simulators, but many airlines will cover it in training. Ditching is not a common thing that is require for every aircraft. It is not a common thing to happen. It is frequently see on smaller airplanes rather than on larger airlines.
- Belly Landing: A plane in an emergency performs a belly landing with the gear “up .” It is usually due to equipment malfunction (gear not extending or reaching a locked position). However, pilots sometimes intentionally chose to lower the gears to make an emergency landing when they felt it would have resulted in a safer outcome, especially when landing outside an airfield. Landing with gear up due to the crew forgetting to extend the gear is commonly referre to as “landing with gear up.”
- Crash landing: A landing by a plane in an emergency in which the aircraft suffers severe structural damage. Not all forced landings are classified as crash landings. It is inappropriate to use this term if the plane is undamage (or has minor damage).
What happens next if the plane makes an emergency landing?
Imagine you are on a plane in an emergency when it becomes clear that something is wrong. Maybe the plane is shaking, or you are starting to smell smoke. The captain announces an emergency landing over the in-flight announcement.
What happens next? What options do pilots have, and how should they proceed to land a plane in an emergency? And what prompts them to make that call? There are several situations in which an emergency landing is require. These include:
- Completely non-functional aircraft,
- Fuel shortages when successful landing at the intended destination is in doubt,
- Technical failures, and
- Permanent crew failures.
To prepare for and finally execute a plane in an emergency to land, the pilot must go through a series of steps. It includes preparing cabins, sending requests to emergency services, reviewing all evacuation procedures, and developing action plans. For example, a pilot may forgo some of an aircraft’s fuel to reduce the plane’s weight. Airplanes are heavier at takeoff than they are at landing due to the importance of the power on board. In routine flights, this fuel has burned during the journey, but when a plane in an emergency tries to land, it can be heavier than during a normal landing.
Of course, the flight crew also plays a vital role in landing a plane in an emergency. The crew’s main job is to clearly communicate the situation to passengers and get everyone off safely. It includes ensuring passengers know when to land, where and how to disembark, how they and their children need to be prepare, and what to bring. In addition, while a plane is in an emergency, flight attendants must use slides to discourage passengers from sneaking back into the airplane to retrieve their belongings. For example, a 2008 emergency landing required passengers to climb an evacuation slide to retrieve their personal belongings.
Many pilots successfully landed a plane in an emergency by flying their airplane softly. And under control into treetops when they had nowhere else to go. For example, a quick-thinking Piper Tri-Pacer (PA-22-150) pilot was save because smaller trees, brush. And vegetation can also assist in slowing down an aircraft and absorbing the impact.
