Quote:
Originally Posted by ntnBO
What would this procedure be? I'm assuming you've still got one good engine. Take off, compensate for the lost engine, immediate return?
Would think take off with one engine would be a little sticky but can't say I know much about such things.
V1 is that magic speed, also sometimes called "decision speed", at which point we are committed to flying. If we have an engine failure prior to V1, we abort the takeoff and bring the plane to a stop on the runway, a procedure that will likely include max braking.
When I'm flying and hear the other pilot say "Vee one," my hand comes off of the throttles and goes to the yoke, and I wait for him to say "Rotate." In the MD-88, there is usually about 7-10 knots between V1 and rotation speed.
So here's how a V1 cut goes. I apply takeoff power and call for autothrottles. The PM (pilot monitoring) engages the autothrottles and calls out the annunciation on the FMA (flight mode annunciator): "Flex 50" for example.
At about 60 knots the throttles in the 88 go into clamp mode and the PM calls out the change on the FMA: "Clamp." The power should be at takeoff power and clamp mode gives me control of the throttles.
At 80 knots, the PM scans the engine instruments and calls out "80 knots, thrust normal." If it's not normal we would abort the takeoff. I have one hand on the yoke, one hand on the throttles in case I need to abort.
The next call from the PM is "Vee one." In our scenario, the instructor will fail one of the engines and the plane will yaw towards the dead engine. I will visually apply enough rudder to keep the nose on centerline and wait for the "rotation" call. I will also expect to have to apply a little more rudder once I lift the nosewheel off the ground because I won't have the assist of ground friction.
At Vr, the PM calls "rotate" and I smoothly pull back on the yoke to rotate the nose to 12.5° rather than the usual 18-20° nose up. While climbing, I can reach over to the center console and crank in some rudder trim to help me with the pressure I'm holding on the rudder pedal.
We don't do a thing until 400' agl and this can be a minute if we're heavy on a hot day. Once at 400' agl, I'll ask the PM to declare an emergency and request runway heading if possible. Note: at some airports this is
not possible and we still have to comply with an obstacle avoidance climb procedure. Our company pubs have special procedures for critical terrain airports.
At 1000' agl, I'll ask for "altitude hold, bug Vee two plus twenty" and I'll level the plane off here to accelerate. When the plane reaches V2+20, which is a good maneuvering speed with flaps extended, I'll then say "IAS, MCT, EPR limit, re-bug V2+20, bank angle 25, After Takeoff checklist, Engine Failure checklist, autopilot engage"
To break this down, I'm asking for IAS, which is a climb mode at a specific speed. I'm asking for MCT, which is Maximum Continuous Thrust, and is a button the PM pushes on the power mode control panel. Lastly, I ask for "EPR limit" (pronounce "E-purr") so that the autothrottles drive the power right up the index set by selecting MCT. I ask for V2+ 20 again, because when IAS is selected, it's going to lock onto whatever speed I'm currently at and I may be a few knots off of V2+20. I have him select bank angle 25 on the mode control panel, so that I can now use more than 15° of bank. When we were below maneuvering speed (V2+20), we keep the bank angle shallower for a higher margin above stall. I then ask for two checklists: the normal after takeoff checklist and then the engine failure checklist, which the PM will find in the QRH (Quick Reference Handbook). If the failure was due to an engine fire, we would first perform two memory items: autothrottles off and affected thrust lever (confirm) to idle. We don't move it until both pilots confirm that it's the right one. It is typical for the flying pilot to assume the radios while flying on autopilot, so that the PM can give full attention to the abnormal checklist.
At this point, with the engine failure checklist done, we'll probably return for landing or, if the weather is below minimums, we'll fly to our takeoff alternate. We'll also do the customary "two in, two out" duties. This means talking to the flight attendants and passengers (two inside the plane), as well as ATC and our dispatcher (two outside the plane). When talking to the flight attendants, we'll explain the type of emergency, time remaining to land (so that they can plan their preparation), any special instructions (e.g. don't use rear cabin exit if there's an engine fire on that side), and then have the FA repeat it all back to me so I can be sure there was good communications.