Definition
A reduced grouping of flight instruments used to control the airplane when the primary attitude or heading instruments have failed. It typically consists of the airspeed indicator, altimeter, turn coordinator (or turn-and-slip indicator), vertical speed indicator, and magnetic compass — the instruments that remain usable when the attitude indicator and heading indicator are lost.
Plain English
The smaller set of instruments a pilot relies on to keep flying safely after the main attitude and heading instruments have stopped working.
Context Anchor
Used in instrument flying discussions, especially when practicing instrument cross-check after an instrument failure.
Derivation
"Emergency" comes from the Latin emergere, meaning "to arise" or "come out" — used here in the sense of an unexpected situation needing a response. "Panel" refers to the cockpit instrument layout. Together the term describes the panel a pilot falls back on when something has gone wrong.
Why Pilots Care
Maintains aircraft control and orientation after primary instrument failure, preventing spatial disorientation and enabling safe continued flight or recovery.
Intuition Check
Do not read emergency panel as a separate special panel in the airplane. In this context, it means the smaller set of usable instruments left after a failure.
Example Sentence 1
When the vacuum pump failed in cloud, the pilot transitioned to the emergency panel and used the turn coordinator and altimeter to keep the airplane level.
Example Sentence 2
In training, students practice maintaining coordinated flight using only the emergency panel instruments.