By Frank Bowlin

You’re going to land. Soon. And it won’t be on a runway. It doesn’t matter what transpired before that sinking realization—a broken crankshaft, fuel exhaustion, flight control malfunction—but the end result is the same: You’re about to make an off-airport landing. What will you do? How will you perform this landing? What’s the highest priority and what is the best terrain for you and your aircraft?

Off-airport landings aren’t always crashes. You just don’t know if it’s going to be a safe off-airport landing or a crash until it’s over. Plan for the crash; hope it’s not. Let’s explore ways to survive the experience with some simple after-the-fact arm…