Emergency procedures

Warnings are red, cautions yellow. Every message, and what raises it, is listed on the WCA page. Acknowledge MASTER WARNING or MASTER CAUTION to silence it, then deal with the cause.

For most warnings, the ENG page also shows the immediate action steps in its lower half. The checklists below go further.

In every emergency: fly the aircraft first. Keep the rotor in the green, keep away from the ground, then work the checklist.

Engine fire

ENGINE 1 FIRE, ENGINE 2 FIRE or APU FIRE, with a voice warning and the fire handle lit red.

1. Confirm which side. Check the lit fire handle, or the WCA page.
2. Fire handle for that engine or the APU: press to arm. Fuel to it is shut off; that engine runs down.
3. PRI: press to discharge the primary bottle.
4. If the fire still burns, RES: discharge the reserve bottle.
5. Engine fire: continue as for a single engine failure. APU fire on the ground: shut down.

Arm the handle before discharging: a bottle only reaches a fire whose handle is already armed. Each bottle can fail, one time in four, which is why there are two. A fire that is not put out usually burns itself out within half a minute or so once the engine is shut down, doing damage until it does. See Fire protection.

Single engine failure

ENG1 OUT or ENG2 OUT. The other engine picks up the load and the aircraft is now single-engine: its limits change. See single-engine limits.

1. Collective: lower it as needed to keep Nr at 95% or more. A heavy aircraft on a hot day may not hold a hover on one engine.
2. Airspeed: in a hover or low and slow, gain forward speed if you can. Forward flight needs less power than hovering.
3. Torque: keep the good engine at or below 110%. Up to 122% is allowed for 2.5 minutes, up to 125% for 6 seconds.
4. Failed engine power lever: OFF.
5. Weight: if you cannot hold height, jettison stores with Emergency Jettisonunbound.
6. Land as soon as practical. Plan a running landing if you cannot hover.

Do not try to restart an engine that failed from damage. A tripped or fire-damaged engine cannot be restarted until the aircraft is repaired.

Chips or low oil pressure

ENG1 CHIPS, ENG1 OIL PSI (or engine 2): the engine is damaged and will get worse.

1. Reduce power on that engine as far as the flight allows.
2. Land as soon as practical, before it fails. An engine that fails from oil starvation may catch fire.

GRBX, XMSN and GRBX VIB cautions mean the drivetrain is damaged. Land as soon as possible: a failed transmission takes the rotors, generators and hydraulic pumps with it, and a failed tail gearbox stops the tail rotor. See Engines and rotor.

Dual engine failure

Both engines out: the rotor is your only source of energy.

1. Collective: down, immediately. Every second of delay costs rotor speed you cannot get back.
2. Nr: hold it in the green, 95% to 105%, with the collective.
3. Fly at a moderate forward speed towards the best landing area in reach.
4. Near the ground, flare with aft cyclic to slow down and cushion the descent, then level the aircraft.
5. As the aircraft settles, raise the collective to cushion the touchdown.

Rotor speed

Warning	Cause	Action
LOW RTR	Nr below 95% in the air: too much collective for the power available.	Lower the collective.
HIGH RTR	Nr 106% or more: too little load, often in a descent or flare.	Raise the collective, reduce the descent rate.

Hydraulics

Message	Action
PRI HYD PSI / PRI HYD LVL	The utility system still powers the flight controls. If the primary pump has failed, BUCS FAIL and FMC DISENG follow: fly without the hold modes. Land as soon as practical.
UTIL HYD PSI / UTIL HYD LVL	Gun and rocket pylons are lost (GUN FAIL, PYLON ERROR). The primary system keeps the flight controls. Land as soon as practical.
HYD FAIL	Both pumps failed. Press EMER HYD for about a minute and a half of control from the accumulator, and land at once.
TAIL RTR	Tail rotor control lost. Land as soon as possible.

See Hydraulics and Emergency hydraulics.

Electrical

One generator or rectifier carries the whole load, so GEN1 FAIL or RECT1 FAIL on its own needs no action beyond landing when convenient. With both of a pair failed you lose AC or DC systems: the MPDs, IHADSS, radar, sights or countermeasures, depending on which. See What needs what.

Fuel

FWD FUEL LO or AFT FUEL LO: one cell is low. Check the FUEL page. If the other cell has fuel, crossfeed to feed both engines from it, or transfer fuel across. If both are low, land.

Flight controls

Caution	Action
FMC DISENG	The hold modes and stability augmentation are lost. Check the UTIL page for a channel switched off; otherwise fly by hand and land as soon as practical.
STAB FAIL	The stabilator is damaged. Expect pitch changes with speed and power; slow down and land as soon as practical.