can planes land with no engines?

Answer 1

Yes, it's called a "dead stick" landing. The big issue is that you only get one chance and you have to glide in perfectly, too fast and you'll never stop, too slow and you'll not reach the runway.

Helicopters do it all the time, it's a standard part of training and they call it autorotation.

There have been a couple of very famouse cases, perhaps the most famous is the Gimli Glider, see below. (Ach, beaten to it ;-) )

Answer 2

Yes the important thing is speed. as long as the plane is going fast enough to create lift it will stay in the air. Gliders and sail planes stay in the air for hours without an engine and land just fine. The trick is to land before your airspeed is too low to keep you up, the bigger and more draggy planes like airliners know they can glide for many miles before they have to land.

Answer 3

Mmm

Well from the answers and the Gimli Glider ref I think it is clear that planes can and do land with no engines.
However the rate of descent and the glidepath may be very different putting much more strain on the airframe.
This is much more likely to cause a breakup on landing and difficulty with stopping etc...
In the case of the Gimli Glider they had to sideslip to be able to loose altitude without gaining speed.

Answer 4

Happens all the time from single engine planes to multi engine transport aircraft. There has been a couple of airliners in the last 20 years that have got down with no power from there main engines with no lives lost.

Answer 5

Sure, gliders do it all the time. Gliding is the key, of course, for powered aircraft that have lost power. Most aircraft will glide around 9 feet forward for every foot they lose in altitude (glide ratios vary widely). Pilots should be constantly looking for emergency landing options while flying in visual flight rules, and should be aware of the locations of nearest suitable airports while flying under instrument flight rules. Small planes can safely set down in fields, on roads, and frozen lakes, but it's not preferred. I always try to fly as high as is practical so that I have more options for emergency landing sites.

Answer 6

Yes its possible. Have you heard of gliders. Its possible to cruise to a particular distance in range and then glide down to a safe landing or even a belly landing. BUT it all depends on the operating crew of the aircraft and the type of the aircraft.

Answer 7

I am a pilot & we pilots practice forced approach proceedures all of the time so we can make a safe landing in the even that our engine(s) quit. So yes airplanes can land with no engines. Gliders do it all of the time.

Answer 8

During landing the engines are not producing enough thrust to maintain flight. All airplanes have a glide ratio. Some like military aircraft "fighters" glide like rocks!

Answer 9

Yes, in the right circumstances. For example, think of the Space Shuttle, which has to land as a glider despite having (as somebody once said) the aerodynamics of a brick.

Answer 10

Its called a glider. Most planes land with low throttle, so it comes in at the right speed.