Definition
A memory aid used in multi-engine flying to identify which engine has failed. With the airplane held straight using rudder, the foot that is not pressing on a rudder pedal — the 'dead foot' — points to the failed, or 'dead,' engine. The live engine produces yaw toward the dead engine, requiring rudder pressure on the side of the operating engine to keep the airplane straight.
Plain English
When one engine quits in a twin, you push hard on one rudder pedal to stop the airplane swinging sideways. The foot that isn't pushing tells you which engine has failed — same side as the relaxed foot.
Context Anchor
Used in multi-engine training and in actual engine-failure procedures when identifying which engine has lost power.
Derivation
This is a cockpit memory phrase. “Dead” means inactive or not doing useful work here: the “dead foot” is the foot not actively pressing the rudder pedal, and it points to the “dead engine,” the engine that is no longer producing power.
Why Pilots Care
Allows rapid, eyes-out identification of the failed engine so the pilot can maintain directional control and apply the correct shutdown sequence without delay.
Grounding Statement
Picture a twin-engine airplane pulling left after the left engine fails; the pilot presses right rudder, so the relaxed left foot identifies the left engine as the failed one.
Intuition Check
Do not read “dead foot” as a physical problem with the pilot’s foot. It means the foot with little or no rudder pressure, and that side matches the failed engine.
Example Sentence 1
When the right engine quit during the climb, the pilot kept the airplane straight with left rudder, noted the dead foot—dead engine check pointed to the right side, and confirmed the failure before securing it.
Example Sentence 2
During the low-altitude engine failure drill, calling out dead foot—dead engine confirmed which propeller to feather first.