Precautionary Search and Landing

Pre-lesson Workbook

CASA Recreational Pilot License (Aeroplane) — CASA Sample Syllabus Lesson 24, Pre-lesson Workbook

Complete this before your lesson — on your own, at your own pace. For each topic: watch a video, read an article, then answer the questions in the space provided. Print this out, or write your answers in a notebook. It should take about 45–60 minutes in total, and we'll check it together at the start of your pre-flight brief.

All text in this workbook is licensed under Creative Commons BY-SA 4.0. More info

1. Why precautionary landings happen

Most precautionary landings have nothing to do with an engine failure — the aeroplane is still running. They happen because of planning: weather closing in, fuel running lower than expected, or becoming unsure of your position as daylight fades. They can also be for anything else you're not happy with, such as an oil pressure that's fluctuating or a passenger who is unwell. Recognising the situation early, while you're still in full control, is what makes the difference between a precautionary landing and an emergency.

Read (pick one — real ATSB occurrence briefs):

Answer:

  1. Name three circumstances (other than engine failure) that might force a precautionary landing: ________________________________

  2. Why must the decision to land be made early, rather than waiting to see if things improve? ________________________________

  3. Food for thought: what pressures might tempt a pilot to keep pushing on rather than land early? ________________________________

2. Turning illusions when flying low

Flying low over the ground — as you will be during the search and inspection — wind drift can trick you. Turning from a downwind heading onto an into-wind heading (or the other way round), your groundspeed genuinely changes — fastest downwind, slowest into wind. Low over the ground, that changing picture below can fool you into misjudging your bank angle, tempting you to roll out early or steepen the turn when nothing is actually wrong.

Read:

Answer:

  1. Turning from a downwind heading onto an into-wind heading, low over the ground, how does the aeroplane appear to behave? ________________________________

  2. Turning the other way — into-wind onto downwind — how does it appear to behave? ________________________________

  3. Why is it a mistake to change your bank angle to match what the ground picture is telling you, rather than your attitude reference? ________________________________

3. Fuel management — the fuel log, and best endurance

Once you suspect a precautionary landing might be needed, knowing exactly how much flying time you have left becomes critical. A fuel log tracks what you've used against what you planned; best endurance configuration stretches your remaining fuel into the most time in the air — buying you time to find and inspect a field properly.

Read (the AOPA article, plus at least one ATSB report below):

Answer:

  1. What's the difference between flying for best range and flying for best endurance? ________________________________

  2. Your last fuel check showed 60 minutes of usable fuel remaining, and you need to divert 30° off track to avoid a cloud build-up — 5 minutes off track, then 5 minutes back onto track. How many minutes of fuel will you have once you're back on track? ________________________________

  3. Why might you choose best-endurance configuration over best-range configuration once you've decided a precautionary landing is likely? ________________________________

4. Pre-flight documents — maintenance release, MEL, NOTAM, ERSA, AIP

Before every flight you check a handful of documents that tell you what's serviceable, what's changed, and what rules apply along your route. Knowing what each one covers means you actually use them, rather than just ticking a box: the maintenance release records the aircraft's defects and when maintenance is due; the Minimum Equipment List (MEL), where the aircraft has one, lists what can legally be unserviceable and still fly; a NOTAM (Notice to Airmen) flags something that's changed since the charts were printed; the ERSA and AIP hold aerodrome details and the rules for operating in Australian airspace.

Read:

The ERSA (En Route Supplement Australia) and AIP (Aeronautical Information Publication) are Airservices Australia publications that apply to everyone. The ERSA gives aerodrome-specific details like runways, frequencies and local procedures, and the AIP holds the rules and procedures for operating in Australian airspace. Both are free at airservicesaustralia.com. Before every flight you check the aircraft's maintenance release for defects and serviceability. If the aircraft also has an MEL, which is specific to that aircraft and operator, it tells you whether an item recorded as unserviceable still allows the flight to go ahead. Many training aircraft don't have an MEL. Ask your instructor to show you where your aircraft's documents live.

Answer:

  1. What do you check on the maintenance release before every flight, and when would you also need the MEL? ________________________________

  2. What is a NOTAM? Even if the aircraft and weather are fine, list three examples of the kind of NOTAM that could still affect today's flight: ________________________________

  3. Find one item in the ERSA and one in the AIP that you'd use when planning a flight from your home aerodrome. Name each one and where you found it:

    • ERSA: item ________________ section ________________ page ______
    • AIP: item ________________ section ________________ page ______

5. The PAN call

You already know the MAYDAY call from Lesson 17 — for a real emergency. A precautionary landing usually isn't that: the aeroplane is still flying normally, but you need help or you want ATC and other traffic aware of your situation. That's what the PAN call is for.

Read:

Answer:

  1. Write out the structure of a PAN call, in order: ________________________________

  2. What's the key difference between a situation that warrants a PAN call and one that warrants a MAYDAY call? ________________________________

  3. Could a PAN situation turn into a MAYDAY situation during the same flight? What would you do if it did? ________________________________

6. Landing distance from your POH

A precautionary landing is only safe if the field is long enough for the aeroplane on the day. Your aircraft's Pilot's Operating Handbook (POH) or flight manual gives landing distances, but they change with weight, pressure altitude, temperature and the surface — so the number you remember from a cool day at sea level may be well short of what a hot day at a high field needs. In the lesson you'll time a field's length from the air; this is how you'll know what length you actually need.

Read:

  • The performance section of the POH or flight manual for the aeroplane you'll fly in the lesson — the landing distance chart or table, and the notes and conditions printed alongside it.

Answer — use today's temperature and the area QNH, and the elevation of the strip or area you'd use for a precautionary landing (for example the practice field; the ERSA lists aerodrome elevations):

  1. What are the elevation, temperature and QNH you're using? Work out the pressure altitude (elevation plus 30 ft for every hPa that QNH is below 1013) and the density altitude: ________________________________

  2. From the POH, what landing distance do you need for those conditions at your planned landing weight? Give both the ground roll and the distance to land over a 50 ft obstacle: ________________________________

  3. What corrections does the POH give for the wind, slope and surface, and what margin would you add on top? ________________________________

  4. How does your answer compare with the rule of thumb that most small aeroplanes want at least 400 m? How would a hotter day, or a higher field, change it — and what would you do if the field you've chosen is shorter than the distance you need? ________________________________

7. Your precautionary search and landing checklist

The precautionary search and landing is a sequence you'll fly from memory, in order, while you're busy. A checklist you make yourself — in your own words, for your own aeroplane — is far easier to learn than one you're handed, and it's what you'll refine with your instructor at the pre-flight brief and then use as the plan for the flight.

The sequence is Decide → Configure → Select → Communicate → Prepare → Inspect → Land. The details are covered in the lesson, so for now build a first draft from what you already know: your Lesson 17 forced landing checklist and field-selection criteria, your POH, and your answers from the PAN call and landing distance topics above.

Do:

Draw up a one-page checklist, with a heading for each of the seven steps, and under each one the few actions and words you'd want in front of you. Aim for short prompts rather than sentences. At a minimum include:

  • Configure — the precautionary cruise configuration for your aeroplane from the POH: the RPM or power, the speed (try 80 kt, a speed that gives you time to look), and the flap setting, plus gear if retractable. Write down the actual numbers: RPM ______   KIAS ______   Flaps ______
  • Select — the field-selection criteria you'd narrate (from Lesson 17)
  • Communicate — your PAN call, in order
  • Prepare — what you'd tell your passengers
  • Inspect and Land — what you think you'll need to check, and the key numbers for a short-field landing in your aeroplane

Leave gaps where you aren't sure — those are the things to ask about in the lesson.

Bring this to your lesson

  • Bring your completed answers, and your draft checklist (printed, or your notebook), to the pre-flight brief
  • We'll check through them together and answer anything that didn't make sense
  • From there, the live theory brief builds on this: configuring the aeroplane for the search, choosing and inspecting a field, the vital-actions sequence, and revising the short-field landing from Lesson 22

None of this is about memorising trivia for its own sake — it's about building the judgement to decide early, and the plan to act on that decision calmly.

Each topic below lists a verified video or two and article options rather than a single pick — check these again before printing this for students, as although they were checked when last used, they may have changed since.

Landing distance is type-specific, so there is no answer key here: check the student's answer at the pre-flight brief against the POH for the aeroplane they'll fly. Look for the right pressure altitude (a QNH below 1013 raises it, a QNH above 1013 lowers it), density altitude that rises on a hot day, and the correct chart conditions (flap setting, speed, surface, weight). Pressure altitude and the density altitude rule of thumb (about 120 ft per °C above ISA, where ISA is 15°C at sea level falling about 2°C per 1000 ft) are for a quick feel only — the POH chart handles temperature directly. CASA underpinning knowledge: contents of the aircraft flight manual and pilot's operating handbook [A3 4(m), A4 4(g), A6 4(l)]; A6.4(f), landing area length adequate for landing. This is the figure the theory brief's timing slide tells the student to compare their timed field length against.

There is no answer key, because the point is for the student to build their own and own it. At the pre-flight brief, look at the draft with the student and check it against the POH: the configuration numbers in particular (RPM, speed and flap should give a slow, safe cruise with good visibility and a margin above the stall), then the order of the sequence, the PAN call structure and the passenger brief. Note where they've left gaps, and fill them in on the whiteboard as you go through the lesson plan. The student can then take the refined checklist with them (for example on a kneeboard) to use during the flight. The student's own wording is more important than matching a model checklist — leave it unless it's unsafe or out of order.