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As to private pilot course, I learned emergency procedure of engine fire. In POH, there is engine fire procedure and electrical fire procedure. When examiner or other chief instructor say 'I smell smoke', what does it mean? Does it mean engine fire?

gusdyd88
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What does it mean?

Generally it means something is on fire (or burning)

Does it mean engine fire?

It might, but there are lots of things in an aircraft that can burn so it might not always be an engine fire. Electrical fires can produce strong smells as can burning insulation or other non engine related fires.

As per the comments, the key is to work through your checklist items to determine the source of the fire and mitigate appropriately. For example here is a snip of the fire checklist for the PA-28-161 I trained in:

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Its important to note that electrical fire is the first item on this list, when trouble shooting you dont want to shut off a running engine to discover its an electrical fire.

Dave
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  • So, just saying 'I smell smoke' is kind of vague order on checkride, right? I'm confusing that when an examiner say like that, it mean fire engine or electrical fire. – gusdyd88 Sep 13 '19 at 03:21
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    @gusdyd88: The examiner is not telling you where the fire is because s/he wants you to go through the appropriate procedures for a suspected fire, discovering if it's the engine, electrical, or your passenger in the back seat sneaking a cigarette. – jamesqf Sep 13 '19 at 04:08
  • @jamesqf Then, it depends on my choice. When examiner say 'smell smoke', I can pretend there is engine fire, electrical fire or smoking passenger. According to the situation I choose, I can proceed appropriate procedure. – gusdyd88 Sep 13 '19 at 04:22
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    Play along, ask your instructor "does it smell like electrical smoke? Do you see smoke coming from the engine cowling? Is there visible smoke coming from behind the radio panel?" You won't discern his intent for the simulated emergency by asking the internet. – Michael Hall Sep 13 '19 at 04:44
  • @gusdyd88 if you're not how your instructor expects you to react during a training exercise, you can just ask, and even role-play it on the ground. He probably does it so often that he assumes everyone is familiar with the technique, and may have not realised that he's not done anything similar with you yet. – Robin Bennett Sep 13 '19 at 15:13