Lost Aircraft Procedures

Getting lost is a terrifying experience, but with training, utilizing 'the five Cs,' you can protect yourself.

Lost Aircraft Procedures

Introduction to Lost Aircraft Procedures

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    Lost Aircraft Procedures

    Resources Available if Lost

    • The aviation environment is full of resources available to pilots
    • The most obvious resource is air traffic control radar services, which include:
    • Additionally, pilots may reach out to control entities which include tower, approach, and center
      • Air traffic control may ask you to squawk a distinct transponder code which controllers can use to identify the pilot if under radar contact
    • Pilots may also consider using their electronic flight bag resources to find the nearest airport or navaid, which can help identify where a pilot is in relation to a known point
    • Finding prominent landmarks provides pilots with another resource to determine their location
    • Pilots may consider broadcasting on a known frequency or guard
      • Pilot: "Any station, [Callsign] lost, request assistance"
    Lost Aircraft Procedures

    Lost Aircraft Procedures Key Highlights

    • Lost aircraft procedures help pilots regain situational awareness and navigate safely when uncertain of aircraft position.
    • Pilots should remain calm, maintain aircraft control, and avoid abrupt decisions when becoming disoriented or lost.
    • The FAA recommends the “Five Cs” procedure: Climb, Communicate, Confess, Comply, and Conserve.
    • Climbing to a higher altitude may improve radio reception, radar coverage, navigation signal reception, and visual reference opportunities.
    • Pilots should contact air traffic control or Flight Service for navigation assistance, radar vectors, or emergency support when needed.
    • Navigation aids, GPS systems, charts, landmarks, and electronic flight displays can help pilots reestablish position awareness.
    • Fuel management becomes increasingly important during lost procedures to preserve options and reduce operational risk.
    • Poor weather, fatigue, low visibility, and inadequate preflight planning can increase the likelihood of becoming lost.
    • Pilots should use all available resources, including onboard technology and outside assistance, to resolve navigation uncertainty safely.
    • Understanding lost aircraft procedures improves aeronautical decision-making, situational awareness, and overall flight safety.
    Lost Aircraft Procedures

    Five C's

    • Circle:

      • If able, you want to minimize your travel so you can orient to the location without anything changing and not get any further off track

    • Confess:

      • Admit that you are lost and need some form of assistance
      • Write down the time you determine you are lost
      • Avoid stressing out and convincing yourself you are lost when maybe you are not

    • Climb:

      • "Climb to cope"
      • Ceiling and visibility permitting climb to improve radio reception (comm and NAVAID) and forward visibility
      • Be sure not to fly around aimlessly, circle if required during a climb

    • Conserve:

      • Operate the aircraft (when straight and level) at maximum endurance power setting
      • When oriented, fly max range
      • Check your fuel state and determine how much time you have

    • Communicate:

      • Request assistance on the area working frequency
      • Try to communicate using all available channels and NAVAIDs
      • If unable try calling an approach control frequency with a PAN report and request vectors
      • If unable to receive any reply, switch to guard and deliver a PAN report
      • If required set transponder 7700
      • If ATC responds then comply with instructions
      • UHF: "PAN-PAN, PAN-PAN, PAN-PAN, [Callsign], [Situation], [Position], [Intention] PAN-PAN, PAN-PAN, PAN-PAN"

    • Comply:

      • If you are attempting to land at a strange field, circle it at a safe altitude and locate all obstacles and hazards
      • Determine the wind direction and duty runway and get a rough estimate of runway length and width
      • Try to contact the tower on guard prior to landing
      • Use the best estimation of pattern altitude
      • Never fly above overcast layers.
    Lost Aircraft Procedures

    Methods to Determine Position

    • Circle and climb of the five C's give us time and perspective to determine our position
    • Circling allows us to take stock of our area, looking for prominent landmarks to reference on a sectional
    • Climbing allows to see further, but also allows for better reception of ground-based navigation aids, whereby a pilot could find a bearing from a station and maybe also determine distance to narrow down position
    Lost Aircraft Procedures

    Lost Aircraft Procedure

    1. Maintain positive aircraft control at all times
    2. Remain calm
    3. Conserve fuel by leaning the engine for the best economy operation and reduce power as much as practical
    4. Maintain situational awareness, using a sectional chart and NAVAIDs as follows:

      • Sectional:

        • Reset the heading indicator (HI)
        • Turn the sectional chart to match your heading
        • Watch for prominent landmarks
        • Match the landmarks to the sectional chart.
      • Obtain assistance from ATC or FSS
      • If unable to establish contact with anyone, squawk 7700 and transmit "in the blind" on 121.50 MHz to obtain assistance
      • Carefully monitor the amount of fuel and make a precautionary landing, preferably at an airport, before exhausting the fuel supply
    Lost Aircraft Procedures

    Lost Aircraft Procedures Common Errors

    • Failure to find a prominent landmark from which to calibrate position on sectional chart
    • Failure to monitor and subsequently conserve fuel
    • Improper calculations
    • Not turning toward an airport
    • Not having the heading indicator set to the Magnetic Compass
    • Failure to have sufficient altitude to gain a better view of the terrain
    • Failure to utilize the radio aids to assist in determining position
    • Failure to ask for assistance if unable to determine position
    Lost Aircraft Procedures

    Lost Aircraft Procedures Interactive Scenario

    Interactive Scenario

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    Lost Aircraft Procedures

    Lost Aircraft Procedures Knowledge Check


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    Lost Aircraft Procedures

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