Ensuring there is fuel aboard the airplane adequate for the planned flight is a basic, primary responsibility for any pilot. Unfortunately, the accident record tells us it’s one responsibility not all pilots fulfill. In our experience, fuel exhaustion, starvation or simple mismanagement accounts for a healthy proportion of engine-failure mishaps. This is true despite the event being resolved without anyone except the pilot knowing about it, or the NTSB opening an accident investigation. While fuel-system complexity can be an argument in defense of any failure to meet this basic requirement, it ultimately falls down because ensuring enough of the stuff is aboard and gets to the engine(s) is always the pilot’s responsibility. And you did read the POH/AFM, and perform a preflight inspection before climbing in, right?
Meanwhile, one reason multi-engine airplanes exist is for the peace of mind the additional powerplant(s) bring to the table. Of course, that only works well when we maintain our skills at flying with one engine inoperative, especially in a high-workload environment. Like when shooting an approach in actual IMC. Losing an engine at such a point can end well if everything else comes together. Here’s an example where it didn’t.
