Single-Engine Airplane Risks Sometimes Escalate

Add night, mountains, or IMS, and the situation can worsen quickly.

Douglas Boyd

Tuesday, September 02, 2025 at 08:00 AM ET

Verified

Edited By:

Travis Tingle

Night flying is a classic good-news, bad-news story. [Credit: David Weaver/ChatGPT]

Key Takeaways:

Operating single-engine aircraft at night or over hilly terrain significantly elevates the risk of fatal accidents, with night flights shown to be 2.2 times riskier than daytime flights.
In the event of an engine failure, pilots must weigh emergency landing options such as diverting to airports, utilizing paved non-runway surfaces (like highways), or attempting an open-field landing, each presenting distinct challenges, especially at night.
Mitigation strategies include maintaining sufficient altitude for glide range, leveraging electronic flight bags (EFBs) for landing site identification, planning for engine-out drift-down paths, and adhering to strict weather minimums.

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Poring over accident reports is my mainstay as an aviation safety researcher, and after many years I’ve developed a thick skin about most accidents I research.

However, a fatal accident (November 2023/NTSB ERA24FA050) involving a turbocharged Piper Saratoga (N4187Q) on an IFR flight plan between Scott Municipal Airport (KSCX) in Oneida, Tennessee, and H.L. Sonny Callahan Airport (KCQF) in Fairhope, Alabama, struck close to home.