Systems & Equipment Malfunctions
You must recognize and respond to in-flight system failures — electrical, vacuum/pitot-static, engine roughness, gear/flap problems, smoke/fire, etc. The examiner assesses whether you analyze the problem correctly, take the proper corrective action, use the checklist, and exercise sound judgment (including diverting or landing).
Step by step
- 1Recognize the malfunction from the symptoms (warning lights/annunciators, gauges, smells, sounds, control feel).
- 2Maintain aircraft control first — fly the airplane before troubleshooting.
- 3Identify and analyze the failed system and its consequences (e.g., what does a vacuum failure cost you on instruments?).
- 4Take the immediate memory/flow action if one applies, then run the appropriate emergency/abnormal checklist.
- 5Manage the affected systems (load-shed for an electrical failure, alternate static source for a blocked static port, etc.).
- 6Exercise judgment: declare an emergency if warranted, get help from ATC, and decide whether to continue, divert, or land.
- 7Keep the passengers informed and complete the relevant securing/landing checklists.
Tips & common errors
- Fly the airplane first — many "emergencies" are made worse by heads-down troubleshooting.
- Know the consequences of each failure (e.g., vacuum failure = no attitude/heading indicator; pitot blockage = unreliable airspeed).
- Use the checklist — do the immediate items from memory, then verify and continue with the printed procedure.
- When in doubt, declare and divert; a precautionary landing beats pressing on with a degraded airplane.
ACS completion standards
The commonly-tested tolerances for this maneuver. Always confirm the current ACS for your certificate.
- Promptly recognize and correctly analyze the malfunction.
- Take the appropriate corrective action using memory items and the checklist while maintaining control.
- Exercise sound aeronautical decision-making (divert/land/declare as appropriate).
FAA source
FAA-S-ACS-6 / FAA-S-ACS-7 / FAA-S-ACS-8, Task: Systems and Equipment Malfunctions; Airplane Flying Handbook FAA-H-8083-3, Chapter 18; Instrument Flying Handbook FAA-H-8083-15, Chapter 8.
This is an original, plain-English study summary grounded in the public-domain FAA Airman Certification Standards and FAA handbooks cited above. It is a study aid, not flight instruction, and not a substitute for the official ACS, the handbooks, your aircraft’s POH/AFM, or a certificated flight instructor.
Related maneuvers
- Emergency DescentAn emergency descent is a maximum-rate descent to get the airplane down quickly — for example after an onboard fire, a pressurization problem, or a need to reach the surface fast. You configure for the highest safe descent rate (per the POH) while keeping the airplane under control and within limits.
- Emergency Approach & Landing (Engine Failure / Power-Off)After a (simulated) engine failure, you must fly the airplane, pick the best landing site, glide to it, attempt a restart with the checklist, and set up a power-off approach. The priorities, in order, are: fly the airplane (best glide), navigate to a landing area, and run the checklist/communicate.
- Rejected (Aborted) TakeoffA rejected takeoff is the decision to abort the takeoff while still on the ground because of an abnormality — an engine that is not making full power, a warning, a door popping open, an animal on the runway. The key is a pre-briefed abort decision point and a prompt, controlled stop on the runway.
- Rectangular CourseThe rectangular course teaches you to fly a constant, equal distance from a square or rectangular ground feature while correcting for wind. It directly simulates the airport traffic pattern, so it builds the division of attention and wind-drift correction you use on every approach.
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