'What the...?'

There's no good time to have an engine failure, but some are better than others. After taking off is never one of them.

Jim Wolper

Tuesday, December 26, 2023 at 08:00 AM ET

Verified

Key Takeaways:

Multi-engine flight demands precise, pre-planned emergency procedures and immediate, correct pilot responses—especially proper rudder control for engine failures—as mistakes, particularly at low altitude, can quickly become catastrophic.
Effective multi-engine training must prioritize safety, thoroughly cover aircraft systems (including the unique challenges of older models), and safely practice emergency drills to prevent dangerous errors like using ailerons for yaw control or misidentifying a failed engine.
Pilots must understand that incorrect actions during an engine failure, such as improper control inputs or shutting down the wrong engine, can lead to fatal outcomes like a VMC rollover, underscoring the high responsibility of multi-engine instructors.

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The takeoff seemed to go well, right up until the left engine failed. Autofeather quickly had the propeller blades of the failed engine turned to minimize drag. I raised the landing gear; I did not need to worry about flaps because I never take off with flaps in this airplane. The multi-engine pilot’s rosary—power up, clean up, identify, verify, feather—was complete.

So why wouldn’t the airplane climb?