Twin-Engine Troubles

Nothing else is as good as control.

Peter Garrison

Wednesday, August 09, 2023 at 12:30 PM ET

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Key Takeaways:

The article argues that single-engine aircraft are often safer than twins during an engine failure after takeoff, as twin-engine emergencies demand a highly complex, time-critical, and often overwhelming set of pilot actions (e.g., feathering the propeller, controlling airspeed) under immense pressure.
Pilot mental paralysis and failure to execute crucial steps, such as feathering the propeller of the inoperative engine, are key factors in unsuccessful twin-engine emergencies, as illustrated by a Piper Twin Comanche crash that rapidly lost control despite theoretical margins.

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It has often been said, never more so than by FLYING’s erstwhile editor, Richard Collins, that a single-engine airplane is a better bet than a twin if an engine fails right after takeoff, because the chance of the pilot of a twin successfully handling the emergency is so small. This paradox applies, to be sure, to recips, with their meager surplus power. Turbines have it easier. Still, the single-engine pilot has only one task: land. Twin-engine pilots have their hands full.

This Article First Appeared in FLYING Magazine

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