P ilots should periodically review what to do when things go wrong so that the first few steps can be done from memory. Future topics include forced landings, getting lost, running out of fuel, inadvertent thunderstorm penetration, ditching, in-flight fires, upset recovery, and radio failure. Those with the best advice about engine failures have experienced the real thing. Flight instructor Don Wylie got real-world experience when a customer came to his company, Texas Air Aces, for proficiency training in a newly purchased Beech B36TC Bonanza.
Customers taking the course can get a break on their insurance premiums.
The aircraft had been purchased right on the airport, and the customer had never flown it. The engine had just been rebuilt, and unknown to Wylie and the customer, all the induction tubing was loose. Two of the elements needed for a successful engine-out landing were now in place. The engine quit in level flight as Wylie discussed the first maneuver for the day. Wylie established best glide speed and tried the fuel boost pump in an effort to restore power.