Turnback Failure

A lot of ink and pixels have been spilled over the years about turning back to the departure runway if a singles engine quits right after takeoff. The maneuver is usually referred to as a turnback, and was the topic of our January 2006 article, Turnbacks Reconsidered.

Joseph E. (Jeb) Burnside

Thursday, August 10, 2017 at 12:00 AM ET

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The Equator Aircraft team includes the company’s chief designer and CEO, Tomas Brødreskift along with pilot Rein Inge Hoff and team leader Øystein Solheim-Aune. Equator Aircraft

Key Takeaways:

A simulator study revealed that pilots had a 100% success rate when landing straight ahead after an engine failure post-takeoff, compared to 43-80% for turnbacks, even with specific training.
A fatal accident underscored this danger, as a pilot attempting a turnback after a perceived emergency stalled and spun the aircraft, with investigators finding no mechanical failure and noting favorable terrain for a straight-ahead landing.
The article concludes that maintaining control for a straight-ahead forced landing is generally the most survivable strategy following an engine failure shortly after takeoff, rather than attempting a high-risk turnback.

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A lot of ink and pixels have been spilled over the years about turning back to the departure runway if a single’s engine quits right after takeoff. The maneuver is usually referred to as a turnback, and was the topic of our January 2006 article, “Turnbacks Reconsidered”.

In it, Rich Stowell related the results of a simulator-based study of 20 pilots flying scenarios calling for engine failure shortly after takeoff. Successfully handing the emergency meant, among other parameters, the rate of descent at touchdown could not exceed 500 fpm, and bank angle had to be within five degrees of wings-level below 100 feet agl.