Landings: Forced vs. Crash

Pi1otguy

Pi1otguy

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Fox McCloud
In all my time around airports and CFIs I've never heard them use the term "crash landing". It's always "forced" or "off airport" or some such phrase. However, I could almost swear that the airlines used to say "crash landing" during their briefing with the drawing of the jet flying into a hill on the safety card.

Practically, is there a difference between "crash landing" and "forced landing"?
Do CFI's use "forced landing" psychological or PR reasons (i.e. not scaring their students)?
What do you call them during pax briefs or instructing?

Wikipedia said:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emergency_landing#Types_of_Emergency_Landings
  • Forced Landing, the aircraft is forced to make a landing due to technical problems, medical problems or weather conditions. Landing as soon as possible is a priority, no matter where. A forced landing may be necessary even if the aircraft is still flyable. This can arise to either facilitate emergency medical/police assistance or get the aircraft on the ground before a major system failure occurs which would force a crash landing/ditch situation.
  • Crash Landing, is caused by the failure of or damage to vital systems such as engines, hydraulics, or landing gear, and so a landing must be attempted where a runway is needed but none is available. The pilot is essentially trying to get the aircraft on the ground in a way which minimizes the possibility of injury or death to the people aboard.
Click to expand...
 
I think you are now in the realm of the marketing department, not the FARs, as far as the definitions go. So there will probably be no consensus.

The one I like is "In the unlikely event of a water landing, your seat cushion....."

If you are not in an amphib, what is a water landing, if not a crash? :dunno:

-Skip
 
If I were to define it:
Forced landing- an unplanned landing where the aircraft is not damaged

Crash landing- a landing, planned or unplanned, where the aircraft is damaged

Examples of forced landing: Engine stopped, land safely on a sand bar.
PAX has a medical problem, with a landing at an airport.

Examples of a crash landing:
Gear up at destination airport.
All too many of my student landings (well- they felt like crashes)

The defination allows for bush pilots and those in similar activities to land off airport...
 
"In the event of an emergency..."

I hardly ever refer to an off airport landing. Not even to myself. My rule: Don't scare the passengers. Don't scare yourself.
 
silver-eagle said:
"In the event of an emergency..."

I hardly ever refer to an off airport landing. Not even to myself. My rule: Don't scare the passengers. Don't scare yourself.
Click to expand...

I do, my preflight breifing usually mentions that in case we have to land off airport, to prop the door when I tell them to, and to make sure to exit the airplane quickly and organized and head towards the rear of the plane. Don't wait for me, just go, and keep going.
 
I usually think of a forced landing as having some amount of control to it, whereas a crash landing doesn't (eg: CFIT, catastrophic failure, etc). I don't think it's like accident vs incident, though, with a subjective amount of damage or injury to define it. Can you have a crash landing with minimal damage or a forced landing with a lot of damage?

Incidentally, our cabin briefer says "In the unlikely event of an emergency landing..."
 
All I ever mention to students is "emergency" or "emergency landing", regardless of where it may end up.

I've been pulling power right over an airpark just to see how attentive they are so I try not to mislead where the "emergency" may end up on landing.
 
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