353 System Failure Decision Making and Choosing the Best Airport to Land

Max talks about how to respond to system failures, including those not covered in the POH. The process starts with assessing the severity of the failure—whether it's a minor inconvenience or a threat to safety. Pilots should determine if they can substitute other instruments or indicators for the failed system and assess if the issue could lead to cascading failures, such as an engine fire after a turbocharger malfunction.

Choosing the right place to land is also crucial. Not all failures require an immediate landing, so if time permits, pilots should consider airports with better repair facilities.

The episode compares the redundancy in the Cirrus SR22, with its dual alternators and batteries, to the Diamond DA40NG, which has less backup, making electrical failures more critical. The discussion emphasizes the importance of understanding your aircraft's systems and being prepared for emergencies.

A real-life example of a failure involving engine sensors in a Cirrus highlights the importance of redundancy and system knowledge, underscoring the episode's key takeaway: know your aircraft, understand potential failures, and always be prepared to act decisively in flight.

If you're getting value from this show, please support the show via PayPal, Venmo, Zelle or Patreon.

Support the Show by buying a Lightspeed ANR Headsets
Max has been using only Lightspeed headsets for nearly 25 years! I love their tradeup program that let's you trade in an older Lightspeed headset for a newer model. Start with one of the links below, and Lightspeed will pay a referral fee to support Aviation News Talk.
Lightspeed Delta Zulu Headset $1199
Lightspeed Zulu 3 Headset $899
Lightspeed Sierra Headset $699
My Review on the Lightspeed Delta Zulu

Send us your feedback or comments via email

If you have a question you'd like answered on the show, let listeners hear you ask the question, by recording your listener question using your phone.

Mentioned on the Show
Video of the Week: JetCruzer high speed taxi
JetCruzer International
Eleven Labs AI Text-to-Speech Voices
Buy Max Trescott's G1000 Book Call 800-247-6553
Buy Max Trescott's G3000 Book Call 800-247-6553

Free Index to the first 282 episodes of Aviation New Talk

So You Want To Learn to Fly or Buy a Cirrus seminars
Online Version of the Seminar Coming Soon – Register for Notification

Check out our recommended ADS-B receivers, and order one for yourself. Yes, we'll make a couple of dollars if you do.

Get the Free Aviation News Talk app for iOS or Android.

Check out Max's Online Courses: G1000 VFR, G1000 IFR, and Flying WAAS & GPS Approaches. Find them all at: https://www.pilotlearning.com/

Social Media
Like Aviation News Talk podcast on Facebook
Follow Max on Instagram
Follow Max on Twitter
Listen to all Aviation News Talk podcasts on YouTube or YouTube Premium

"Go Around" song used by permission of Ken Dravis; you can buy his music at kendravis.com

If you purchase a product through a link on our site, we may receive compensation.